A certain Kingpin Accelerator
by ultron emperor
Summary: 2018. Gakuen Toshi is run by criminals and a malicious mobster, Accelerator, the most powerfull esper on Earth. Superb and undisputed master of the city, he buy everything and everyone, determined to overcome the boundaries of Academy City and to 'occupy' all the rest of Japan...
1. Chapter 1

**Notes : This story will have the universe of To Aru, and its characters, converted to the style of noir movies, taking inspiration from films like Scarface and The Godfather.**

 **In this fan fiction, Accelerator will be a boss of the underworld and Touma the one who will try to counter it. Alongside them, there will be numerous characters from both To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun.**

 **The plot will be completely different from that of the Novel, but it will contain some of its main elements, such as espers, Gakuen Toush, Judgment, the various organizations etc ...**

 **I'm Italian and English is not my mother language, which is why I'm looking for a beta-reader to help me with the publications. If anyone is interested, I hope you contact me.**

 **I do not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 :**

What is a city? Simply a concentrate of human energy ready to explode.

It is the clash between the old and the new, where past, present and future are compressed into a single block.

Cities are the real stages of human nature, which exceeds and dominates every personal element.

Here, in the constructions and places of entertainment, in the miracles and in the comfort of a technique that cancels the distances, in the formations of community life and in the visible institutions of the State, a fullness of the spirit of the people is manifested.

On the one hand, life in the city is made extremely easy, since it is offered on all sides stimuli, interests, ways of filling time and consciousness, which take it almost in a current where the autonomous movements of swimming do not even seem anymore needed. On the other hand, however, life is made up more and more of these impersonal contents and representations, which tend to eliminate the most intimately singular colors and characteristics.

The city is more than a congeries of individual men and social services, such as streets, buildings, street lamps, tramways and so on. It is also something more than a simple constellation of institutions and administrative tools, such as courts, hospitals, schools, police and officials of various kinds. The city is rather a state of mind, a body of customs and traditions, attitudes and feelings organized within these customs and transmitted through this tradition.

And perhaps, no city knew it better than Gakuen Toshi, who specializes in developing paranormal abilities.

In this city, the usual rule that the vicious delinquent was the strongest in a fight ... well, it was not valid. The criminals who could not support the psychic development program were known as Level 0, human beings without any special skills.

In this city, the really strong ones were high-level esper students, ranging from Level 1 to Level 5, depending on the type of power they were able to exercise.

Gakuen Toshi was just like that.

If on one hand the complex of buildings almost as big as Tokyo could be traced to the classic image of a study city, the true heart of the student metropolis could be exemplified by how the brain development methodologies were quietly added to the various school programs, below to the name of "documentation methods" or "storage methods".

In this city there were no limitations related to age, sex or racial diversity. Anyone could hold any office, even those that were usually reserved for individuals who had reached or exceeded the Japanese legal age.

Because in this city, the only laws to which its inhabitants responded ... were the laws of the city itself.

It was like living in a world separate from the current one, a dimension enclosed in the 40 000 km2 of cement, schools and research facilities.

But not all the 3 million students who lived there had ceased to be human and had become similar to the comics characters, of course. Almost 60% of the total population of Gauken Toshi, in fact, was constituted Level 0, which at most could bend a spoon, concentrating so much to make a blood vessel of the brain explode, at best.

And at the height of all the city's espers there was ... him: Accelerator, the most powerful Level 5.

Some had called him a monster among the monsters. A being emerged directly from the depths of Hell, unable to feel pain or fear, someone who rose above every single human being on the planet.

Gakuen Toshi was his kingdom. No one dared to question his authority, and those who tried never made a good end.

During his time in Academy City, he earned the nickname "One way road", in line with the fate that crossed all those who decided to face it. A one-way street for the morgue, at best.

His presence was intangible, almost a legend, like that of a ghost. And his appearance did nothing but give evidence to these rumors.

White hair like milk framed a pale young face, adorned with a pair of blood-red eyes. Two burning embers that lit up the night.

His esper power? Vector manipulation.

In short, he could control vectors. Every single type of vector on the planet.

Direction, movement, momentum, electricity, heat ... Whatever had a direction was completely under his control. Using simpler terms ... He was an "untouchable" person.

Nothing could scratch it, and some had even begun to define it as "the one who can survive even a nuclear explosion".

Every human being bears a badge, a symbol of loyalty. His were the scars of a boy who had used his body and his strength to climb the peak of organized crime. An orphan who had earned the respect of each esper thanks to his killing thirst.

He had taken an oath of violence, and was dominated by an insatiable desire for power. He wanted to own this city.

Robberies, murders, extortions, clandestine bets: there was his signature on almost every crime, except for prostitution and drug trafficking.

His name was on the front page, in large letters, on the major Japanese newspapers.

He lived in a kind of fortress and went around only with luxury cars that were not even armored, despite having undergone six attacks on his life. Yet he was admired as a celebrity, always surrounded by beautiful women, always in the company of the most prominent figures of Gakuen Toshi.

Two years earlier, in 2016, Accelerator had become the absolute protagonist of the urban complex's crime.

By its seventies, the academy's most powerful experiment was part of the local folklore, such as research centers and patrol robots.

He was now a charismatic figure for the public and his releases always ended up on the front page, as long as his face was never completely framed.

He was the Capone of Japan, able to kill and get away without even having to pay a fine. Many murders were attributed to him, some of which were nothing but mere speculations.

Shrewd and merciless, at just 18 he was already at the center of a war on the underworld and of major political upheavals.

The police, the Japanese government and the criminals: everyone knew about it.

Accelerator was on anyone's blacklist. The local Yakuza wanted him dead and a rival was giving away a whole condominium for those who had completed the task.

A group of corrupt policemen had sworn to kill him, and even some members of his own band, the so-called GROUP, could not wait to get him out.

After threatening to expel the careers of a large number of Gakuen Toshi board members and prominent officials, he was on the list for a hearing with a grand jury set up to investigate corruption within the Anti-Skills, the city's police force.

One day, after having dinner, the Level 5 had stopped by Joseph's.

It was known that he preferred that spartan restaurant full of Level 0 to get the last drink.

Shining, in his impeccable white suit, he settled down in his usual place, in the parlor number six.

He sat back to the wall, surrounded by reporters who followed him waiting for some tragedy.

While he was fulfilling his coffee addiction, Accelerator held the table, giving unsolicited advice in his personal jargon, made up of frequent curses.

Kogou Fukube, a young local journalist who had become his secret supporter, asked him if it was risky to go around the premises, without a minimum of protection.

" I'm not afraid of those trying to get me out" answered the albino, with a low and scratchy voice. "They are just rubbish worthless. And then, no sane man would dare shoot in such a crowded place. Not when it could hurt a reporter like you, at least. You're too sexy".

The woman blushed copiously but tried to keep a professional expression.

Performing a couple of coughs, she resumed talking.

"In an article appeared a few days ago in our newspaper, we wondered why, since you are, or you seem to be, the leader of Gakuen Toshi, you have not even been elected to the office of Mayor" said with a ironic tone, receiving some laughter from the other reporters in the room.

Accelerator smiled and took a sip from the glass of Maxi Caffè he held in his right hand.

"I can tell you," the boy replied casually. "You know, it's strange ... In our life, we laugh for so many things. Or because they are funny or because they are true. Some people, like the reformers, say: "But why do not you put that boy in jail? What did he think he could do?" What I hope to do, and here your beautiful newspaper hit the mark, is to meet the wishes of the fucking people"

That said, he slumped back in his chair, shrugging his shoulders.

"People want to have fun! You know it, I know it, and even those fucking bureaucrats on the upper floors know it! All that remains is for me to act accordingly. I often hear the word "clandestine shop" ... but what clandestine shop? On a boat it's a clandestine shop, here in Gakuen Toushi is hospitality! " He exclaimed, causing more laughter by the reporters.

One of them, however, remained silent. A young girl very close to his age, maybe a little younger.

She had long black hair, a voluptuous chest and warm brown eyes, framing a face with delicate features.

All in all, she would have been called cute by any other specimen of the opposite sex.

Accelerator recognized her immediately: she was Fukiyose Seiri, a press officer in an emerging crime magazine, "The Dark Side of Gakuen Toushi".

"What about your reputation, about controlling your business with violence?"she asked, defiantly. "It is said that those who do not buy your products are convinced by violence."

"Tsk ... it is normal that they think it" the Level 5 replied, not at all intimidated by the words of the journalist. "I grew up in the streets for most of my life. And in those places there was a saying: you get more with a kind word and a gun that only with a kind word!"

Another joke in bad taste, which however was also followed by a laugh by the group gathered.

"In that environment it could also be true. And sometimes your reputation takes you back, especially when you're the most powerful human being on the planet, "Accelerator continued, with a dangerous smile.

The girl, however, remained firm and impassive. The esper was slightly impressed.

Without paying much attention to the thing, he shrugged a second time.

"Violence is practiced at Gakuen Toshi, there is no doubt about this, but not from me or from those who work for me. And do you know why? Because it's never a fucking good deal".

* * *

 **Tokiwadai Academy**

Of all the schools built within Gakuen Toshi, the Tokiwadai Academy was considered the best of the best.

Begun as an exclusively female school, in the last year the institute had begun to welcome groups of male students, making it the top of its field: the development of paranormal powers.

Inside one of the classrooms on the fourth floor of the huge building, Professor Watanabe, an elderly woman who seemed to have come straight out of a sit-com set in the Victorian era, was busy completing the first summer lesson of the year .

"As you know, all the experiments are classified with a level ranging from 0 to 5, which depends largely on their strength. This is determined already from birth, through the analysis of the AIM fields. However, it is possible to increase it with hard work and healthy discipline, "the woman said, her gaze fixed on the classroom.

"Since the type of skill differs according to the individual person, the training methods are different for each of you. Through hard work and perseverance, anyone could reach level 5" she continued, before taking a deep breath

" To effectively strengthen a skill, there have been cases in which the training method was determined by the Tree Diagram ..."

Shortly before she could finish the sentence, however, the sound of a loud explosion echoed throughout the length of the academy.

Most of the students screamed for fright.

"What the hell was that ?!" a girl exclaimed, at the opposite end of the class.

Watanabe gave a resigned sigh, before turning his attention to the nearest window.

"I believe ... that comes from the pool. Misaka Mikoto is measuring her power as part of the final evaluation"

"R-Really?" someone else asked, receiving a nod from the woman.

Soon, the silence of the room sank into a series of mutterings and whispers.

"So what was its power before?"

"Misaka Mikoto, of the third year? The one who is called the Railgun?"

"I heard that she is about to enter Judgment ..."

"Professor Watanabe! Is she really sure that we could become like her too, if we train hard?" the same girl who had spoken a few seconds before asked.

The old woman looked at the student.

"Obviously. She is a great example of how a person can get from level 1 to 5 through hard work" she chuckled.

Outside of the classroom, in front of a now completely drained pool, sat a girl who was probably no older than fifteen.

He wore the typical Tokiwadai Academy uniform and a pair of shorts.

Her hair was short and brown, adorned with a clasp. A pair of large brown eyes framed the small and delicate face, filled with calm and determination.

As the girl began to walk on the edge of the pool, she looked up at the sky, curling her lips in a nostalgic smile.

"Tomorrow is the big day. I will make you proud, dad"

* * *

At 9:00 in the evening, the setting sun became a slice on the Eastern Sea of Japan.

It narrowed into a thin, dazzling line that fell on the eyes of Accelerator with the same intensity of a flash.

Watching for too long a light like that could cause permanent damage to the retina. This was one of the many interesting truths that you learned at school, facts that helped you find a rewarding job like a half-day barman, and an interesting hobby like the full-time search for cheap stuff and yen with which buy it.

But the young man did not stop looking. After all, there was no danger for him.

Things like watching the sun too long would never damage hum.

Faced with that pale light, the boy felt lost. He imagined he was back home, in a now forgotten cradle, with a book in his hand.

In the vision it was spring. The air was warm, the city bloomed and the nostalgia sobbed inside him like a muscle wound in depth by a fishing hook.

Then, when the sooty darkness of the night began to fall, the first howling of the stray dogs that ran through the outskirts of Gakuen Toshi were heard ... and brought him back to reality.

" The children of the night. What music they do, " Accelerator said, looking at his feet.

In front of him, completely tied up, there was a boy probably no older than his own. He was of medium height, with a rather pronounced appearance, dressed in a black leather jacket and a pair of gray gym pants. He also wore Elvis hair, pitch-colored. He was visibly ill-treated, with numerous cuts and bruises that adorned every part of the body, from the feet to the hands.

The albino gave him a chilling smile and went on talking.

"It's an incredible thing, Hebitani. I come here so often ... that they know me now. And they know that I bring something to eat"

"What did the brain tell you? Do you think the rest of the Skill Out will not find out?" the boy said, his face adorned with an expression that bordered on the purest anguish.

The Level 5 just chuckled.

"Oh, that's what I hope, fucking idiot"

"You are to intern, Accelerator. They must to lock you up among crazy people, to eat pudding in their pajamas!"

"A minute ago you begged me" the esper observed, with an impassive look.

The renowned Hebitani swallowed hard and struggled to get the words out.

" Because I thought you were a human being! But you are not a human. You're rotten" he whimpered tightly.

In response, Accelerator rolled his eyes.

"The truth of the century" he murmured in a calm voice.

This done, he knelt down on the boy's level, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Now let me give you some useful information. Just to pass the time!" he exclaimed, and then he sank a finger into one of the many wounds on Hebitani's body.

The teenager in question released a scream, which echoed throughout the length of the neighborhood. Nobody came to help him.

" Do you know what happens to a body ... when the flow of blood is reversed?"Accelerator asked, curling both lips in a decidedly psychotic grin.

Nothing happened for a moment. Then, slowly, the boy's face turned into a mask of horror.

He did not even have time to scream. His body exploded from the inside, like a balloon full of tomato sauce, pouring blood and entrails into the surrounding area.

However, not even a drop of plasma met the figure of Accelerator, who merely reflected it with his power.

They rebounded on him like rain on a glass plate, without staining his clothes.

"Now what do you say, piece of shit? Did I surprised you?" He asked to the corpse of his last victim, receiving no answer in return.

With a grunt of discontent, he proceeded to spit on the remains of the criminal, before turning his attention to the goons he had brought with him.

Two of them held firmly on the ground another teenager, dressed in a purple short-sleeved shirt.

He had long brown hair, which came up to his shoulders, and his face was covered in bruises.

"What an asshole, " the Level 5 commented, making a quick nod in the direction of the body.

Some thugs chuckled, while Hebitani's companion began to whimper.

Without the slightest hint of regret, Accelerator approached him and waved to those who kept him from letting go. The boy, however, stood still and still, too scared to react.

This until the most powerful Gakuen Toshi's esper put a hand on his shoulder, making him wince.

" When you come back from your boss, tell what you saw tonight. Tell him that this part of Gakuen Toshi belongs to Accelertaor. And that I do not want to see Level 0 that sell your shit, "the albino said coldly, receiving a trembling gesture in return.

Meanwhile, stray dogs emerged from the shadows of the night and began to feast on the remains of Hebitani.

* * *

 **How it was ? I hope good! Every review is welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**( Answer review )**

 **Guest : Yeah, Touma has a really important role in this story.**

 **Notes : Remember that I'm italian and I'm looking for an english beta-reader, so I'm sorry for the bad grammar.**

 **I do not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 :**

Orphan by both mother and father, Accelerator, whose original name is still unknown, was left at the foot of a Catholic convent near Kanto in the early 2000s.

His first meeting with the law took place when he was eight years old.

Caught by police officers at the gin machine, in the back of the orphanage, he hit the cops with a plate of steaming food while they were bent over to inspect the alembic.

He ended up in the juvenile court on charges of smuggling. Later, he would have boasted that the first infraction was settled by the contacts of the director of the orphanage.

Later, he made friends with Sister Marie, the educator of the structure: to rectify the problematic child, the woman enrolled him in a school of Orthodox Catholics.

On his first day, after half an hour, Accelerator had already interrupted an assembly by turning the lights on and off, as well as punching another student in the face.

The parish priest sent him home that same day.

Then he called the orphanage, explaining that the child had been expelled and would not be readmitted. Shortly after this incident, he was caught with a crunchy peanut crate stolen from a factory next to the village grocery store.

As a punishment, the juvenile judge sent him to the Internal Special.

The reformatory was located near a gymnasium, with a wire mesh to separate the two courtyards.

At that point, law-abiding youths confronted the juvenile offenders, mocking each other.

Armed with a baseball bat, Accelerator was arrested for attempting to rob the Columbia ticket office, a downtown theater.

They sent him to an even more severe reformatory, near an old redwood building on top of Kyoto, far above the center.

It was there that he was picked up by an old man who called himself Kihara Gensei and was chosen together with many other children to participate in a research program in the city of Gakuen Toushi.

Nobody ever knew what the boy was forced to face in that structure.

The fact is that, about four years later, it came out with the title of Level 5 and equipped with its ability of vector manipulation.

Once free, he began his personal mission of conquest, taking control of the city's crime.

It took him three years to get where he was now.

With that thought in mind, Accelerator let himself be lulled by the music of the radio as he raced through the streets of Gakuen Toushi at full speed.

He was driving a red Mustang that looked like it had just left the factory, flanked on the right seat by a young blond boy. He had his hair shot upward and wore a funny Hawaiian green shirt, complete with little white flowers, and a pair of black sunglasses.

He was Tsuchimikado Motoharu, the right-hand man of Accelerator himself, his most trusted man and, in some ways, his only true friend.

His presence around the esper was as constant, like a pilot fish following a great white shark. They were almost always together and they were the lions of their territory.

" For God's sake, Accelerator, can you to turn off this shit ?!" the boy exclaimed, bringing both his hands to his head.

The albino stared at him from the corner of his eye.

" Shit? Watch your mouth, man, these are the Motörheads," he retorted coolly, before curling his lips in an amused grin. "But, in the end, what can you know? You, the person that can listen only Beyoncè, and only to masturbate during her performances"

" Go to hell! She's not just gorgeous, she's also really good. As if you could understand! You, that get excited by listening to the voice of this alcoholic mustache" the other said, causing a snort by the companion.

" See to bring respect to Lemmy, asshole! Do you know what the prophet said? It's not a matter of taste, if you do not like rock n roll: the problem is only yours"

" Yeah, yeah, whatever you want" Tsuchimikado muttered, slumping into the seat of the car.

The journey continued in relative silence for about ten minutes, with the exception of background music.

This until the blond took a deep breath, as if he wasn't sure to say his next words.

" You know, Accelerator ... sometimes I really struggle to understand you" he said suddenly, attracting the attention of the albino.

" You have the city in hand now. You took everything: the prestige, the swag ... and even all the women that any man would like to fuck" he continued, with a vaguely ironic tone " And now you try to put a finger in the eye to the Skill Out ... Why?"

In response, the Level 5 just stared at the road.

" More. I want more Tsuchimikado" he whispered in a low voice, surprising his right arm.

" Do you want to whine for Hebitani? Do it, I don'tt give a fuck. We toast to Hebitani, one who died creating a new way to cheat at cards, "he said, raising his right hand in a vaguely mocking gesture," I'm sorry, but he will not be there when I cut the inaugural ribbon. But what happened to Hebitani is nothing. It was not a murder. It was progress. I am progress"

And, with this said, the boy's eyes seemed to light up with his own light, shining in the morning's rays.

" Do you really want to know what I want, Tsu? The world, my friend. And all that's inside".

* * *

"You know, last week they discovered a couple, in California, who rented rooms to old men, then killed them, buried them in the garden, and pocketed their pensions

Aogami Pierce, Level 0 and member of the anti-crime organization Judgment, pronounced those words on a hot summer day, comfortably seated inside a black Cadilliac.

He had the typical face of oriental people, with eyes so thin that they looked closed, his hair dyed blue and a jovial smile. Next to him sat a boy, probably no older than 18, with dark hair shot up and his face in a bored expression.

Both boys sported a green band with white stripes, attached to clothes with a pin.

"Ah, and first they tortured them, I do not know why, maybe the TV had broken down. And the thing went on until, using the words of the newspaper, **"the neighbors were alarmed when they saw a man running away wearing only a dog collar"** ," Pierce continued, receiving an uneasy grunt from his partner.

" It is impossible to invent such news, try it, you can not. This is what was wanted to attract someone's attention: digging in the garden had gone unnoticed" Aogami chuckled, with a carefree tone.

Next to him, Kamijou Touma, a high school student and Level 0, released a loud snort.

In reality, the news did not surprise him at all. In his five years of service as a member of the Judgment, after all, he had seen things on the streets of Gakuen Toushi that many would call absolutely impossible. And he had come to a single conclusion on the reality that surrounded him.

At the moment, the human world was based on the suffering and destruction of millions of non-human and human creatures. Understanding it and starting to react, in the private and public sphere, involved a change in perspective similar to religious conversion. Nothing would have seemed more like before, because when we recognized the terror and pain of others we remained forever aware of the infinite transformations of suffering on which contemporary society was based.

A suffering that was also shared by almost all members of the human race.

In short, the world had teeth ... and at any moment it could bite you. Just like now.

Touma noticed a young blonde girl making contact with the target they were stalking.

Hicoichi Tetsu was a middle-aged teenager, looking rather ordinary, dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, and a purple cap covering his head.

He approached the stranger with a friendly smile and began conversing with her. Touma could not read his lips, but he had a vague idea of what approach the criminal would use to be followed.

Probably some bullshit like "the possibility of increasing your power". It almost always worked.

"That bastard does not waste any time" he commented coldly, attracting the attention of Aogami.

The partner also stared at the scene and his smile soon turned into a frown.

Then, when the couple entered a decadent palace on the other side of the street, Touma tore off the Judgment band, put it in his pocket, and escaped from the car.

"Oi, where are you going?" Aogami asked, with a hint of panic.

The Level 0 did not even turn around.

" What do you say? He will certainly not caress her in there"

"Touma, for God's sake, that place belongs to Kakine Teitoku, the leader of SCHOOL. Nobody can enter!"

"Then go to get yourself an ice cream" coldly replied the young officer, approaching the building that did little to hide what it was actually: a house of prostitution, better known as a "house behind closed doors".

In most of the world, this type of buildings had been banned not only by law, but also by the shift in demand that no longer demanded sexual exchange, but the buying and selling of the imaginary.

In large cities, prostitutes had been replaced almost entirely by sex slaves from Asia, or mostly Brazilian transvestites, imported for a season and then sent back to their country. A sign that what was sold on the streets was no longer sex, and not even the sexual exchange, but the representation of sex and the sparkle of the images it produced.

But the situation in Japan was very different, especially in places like Gakuen Toushi where, in modern times, the era of Prohibition re-adapted to the twenty-first century seemed to be raging.

Here, in the Academy City, for high-level espers it was not difficult to kidnap poor and young girls naive from the streets and use them as a commodity just leaving the factory to feed potential customers.

And Touma knew that well.

Assuming a casual expression, he entered the building and headed for the reception a few meters from the door.

He was welcomed by a stocky-looking boy, probably twenty years old.

He wore a purple short-sleeved T-shirt, a yellow cap that covered part of his bald head and a pair of sunglasses. Touma didn't not why he needed them inside the palace, but he assumed they were for making him looks "cool".

"Do you need something?" The receptionist asked, looking up from the magazine he was reading.

Kamijou simulated an embarrassed look and began scratching his head.

"I'm looking for a person," he said in a friendly tone.

In front of him, the boy raised an eyebrow.

" Is that so? What's her name ?"

"I do not know, I thought you could help me find her," the Level 0 whispered conspiratorially.

Almost as if he understood the subtext of those words, the teenager curled both lips in an amused grin.

" I have a soft spot for blondes" Touma added, giving the blow of grace to the conversation.

The receptionist nodded sympathetically and motioned for him to follow him.

They came up to a rather shabby elevator and began to climb to the third floor.

The interior of the machine was dirty, with rusty and worn bars, to testify to how the conditions of the building were reprehensible.

Originally, the palace was a recovery center for high-level espers, before a demolition order was issued. Two years had passed, yet that thing was still standing and ready to welcome the plumes delivered by the men of Kakine Teitoku, head of the SCHOOL organization and the second most powrful Level 5 of Gakuen Toshi.

In an attempt to maintain his own cover, Touma decided to continue the comedy of a young horny teenager in search of the pleasures of meat.

" Er ... Did I mention that I have a soft spot for blondes?" he asked with an embarrassed smile.

The receptionist released a sigh, imagining he had to deal with a newbie.

" Yes, but now it's better that you shut up, or ..."

He stopped suddenly, his eyes focused on Touma's pants. The Level 0 followed him.

Mentally, he found himself cursing. Part of his armband came out of his pocket.

" But you're from Judgment! Christ, what's your brain?" the boy next to him asked, looking incredulous.

Touma laughed nervously ... and then proceeded to hit the criminal's face with an elbow.

The impact was strong enough to knock the boy against the elevator wall, breaking his glasses in the process.

It was instantaneous and his body fell heavily to the ground.

Above him, the Level 0 merely cracked his neck and waited for the elevator to reach its destination.

Once the doors opened, he stepped out of the machine and strained his ears. At the end of the corridor, shouts were echoing.

Without wasting time, the teenager ran to the point where the screams were louder and stopped in front of the door. He could hear a total of four people, but maybe there were more. Three males and one female.

 _"No problem,"_ he thought angrily.

He turned his face in a determined expression and kicked the door open.

The scene in front of him made the blood boil in his veins.

The blond girl was lying on top of a bed, turned back, topped by the figure of Tetsu.

His arms and legs were firmly held by a slightly older boy, his face covered with piercing, and a young man with crusty hair, dyed green.

Fortunately, she was still dressed and seemed mostly unharmed.

The kidnappers got up and snapped, freeing the victim and aiming towards the intruder.

" Hands up!" Touma exclaimed, putting his right hand under the jacket like a gun. He hoped they would belive it. After all, members of the Judgment were not allowed to carry firearms.

The trio of criminals, however, did limit himself to staring at him with amusement.

"I do not think so. I bet 1000 yen that does not have the iron, "said Tetsu, receiving nods of agreement by the comrades.

Touma squeezed both eyelids.

"Why don't you come here and find out," he whispered coldly.

Tetsu was not intimidated and pulled a pocket knife from his trouser pocket, taking a few steps towards the young officer.

Kamijou raised his hand and said: " Bang!"

In front of him, the criminal stared at him in disbelief, before bursting out laughing. Then, he lunged forward with the knife.

Touma winced and proceeded to dodge the blow. The criminal, however, curled his lips in a grin.

He reached out a hand and it began to shine with a faint blue glow.

Snowflakes began to whirl through his fingers like a miniature blizzard.

" Cryokinesis" Touma muttered, putting himself in a defensive position.

Then, like from nowhere, a thick ice road began to protrude from Testu limb, pointing straight in the direction of the young officer.

To the surprise of the criminals, however, Kamijou kept a determined expression ... and raised his right hand to protect himself.

As if it had encountered an invisible barrier, the ice projectile collided with the adolescent's palm, dispersing in a shapeless heap of frost and sleet.

Tetsu stared at the scene in shock.

" Er…Yeah" Touma commented, with a provocative grin.

He had just blocked a powerful esper attack with the simple use of his right hand.

Because, despite being officially classified as Level 0, Kamijou Touma, an eighteen-year-old high school student and a member of the anti-crime organization Judgment ... possessed the ability to undo Esper's powers through his right hand.

No Gakuen Toushi scientist had managed to understand how this was possible. According to the perpetrators of the AIM fields issued by the esper, in fact, the boy was a person without any power.

So what was that mysterious skill? And why was it limited to his right hand?

Questions that no one, not even Touma himself, had been able to answer in ten years of analysis and research.

The so-called Imagine Breaker, as it was called by the scientific community, was still considered an impossible power. And, for this reason, it was perfect to counter the scum of Gakuen Toushi.

With those thoughts in mind, the esper turned his head slightly from side to side of the room and stretched her right hand a second time, signaling the three teenagers to come forward.

The delinquents didn't need a second advise and they pointed their knifes and pistols forward.

After hearing the shots, the young officer lowered his body slightly and avoided the attack, being in front of the figure of Tetsu. And then, he raised his left leg.

The kicks sank along the boy's belly, forcing him to jump back.

He took cover with one arm, but Touma hit him at the elbow and broke it, then to his head, sending him crashing into the wall.

He lunged forward, using his knee to deflect another delinquent's knife, the one with a pierced face.

However, the criminal did not intend to lose ground so easily and punched him.

Touma slammed violently against the plasterboard of the building, with the taste of the blood that filled his mouth and throat, but he remained standing. With unexpected speed, he grabbed the gun that the criminal held in his belt, and then pointed it in the direction of the adversary.

He fired a shot and the teenager was hit in the shoulder.

The delinquent gave a cry of pain, while his companion fired.

Kaimjou heard the bullet whistle an inch from his ear, but he did not retreat. He too had a sentinel of survival, who had served him with extreme devotion for years, and now he was telling him that if he backed away he would be hit.

He fired again.

The criminal screamed a second time, while the bullet ripped open his belly.

A splash of blood hit the face of the young officer, projected by what he hoped with devotion was not a fatal blow.

The esper pushed the teenager backwards. Then, like from nowhere, he felt a stabbing pain in his leg, where a bullet had just touched him.

Taking advantage of the situation, the third delinquent hit him with a fist to the breastbone, before grabbing him, to prevent him from moving.

He grabbed the gun and aimed at Level 0's front, ready to put an end to his suffering.

Kamijou kept cool and pulled a head on the boy's nose, making him stumble backwards.

The criminal raised the gun again to counter, but he was promptly interrupted by the esper, who grabbed the delinquent's arm and bent him to the ground, before he could pull the trigger.

Then, a quick fist on his face by Touma put him K.O.

The young esper stood still, admiring his work.

Then, he glanced quickly at the girl, who had stood in the corner looking at the scene in disbelief.

The Level 0 stared at her, embarrassed.

"So, uh ... do you need a hand?"

* * *

At the same time, in the center of Gakuen Toshi, the situation had become critical.

What began as a simple robbery soon turned into a full-blown shooting.

The sergeant Yomikawa Aiho, a thirty-five-year-old woman with a dense bluish hair gathered in a ponytail, was fighting against the group of criminals led by the extravagant ringleader Okahara Ryouta. She was the head of the city's public security department, the Anti-Skill.

A few feet away from her, a big white man gave up his backpack.

Aiho's partner, Tessou Tsuzuri, saw the machine gun and fired a harmless snort of lead dust from her rifle. She tried to recharge, but she did not have time.

The big man exploded a gust that hit her across the groin, under the bulletproof vest, then arched the barrel towards Yomikawa, who brought her hand to the holster and shot him twice in the middle of his shirt.

Gunshots rang from behind the woman.

One of the robbers dropped the raincoat that hid his weapon and jumped into the bank, while a blow like a violent fist in the back threw the policewoman forward, taking her breath away. She turned around and saw a Berlina with two men sitting cheyenne-style on the edge of the windows on the other side of the car, firing from above the roof, and a third from the back seat.

Yomikawa cursed, dived between two parked cars, and saw Tsuzuri trying to wrap the wound.

Another policeman was motionless, with streams of blood dripping from under his helmet.

Ryouta and his right arm were firing hidden among the cars somewhere on the other side of the road, and over there the window panes were smashed and shattered on the asphalt.

A tire exploded, while the automatic weapons fire coming from the Berlina nailed the remaining agents to the ground.

Yomikawa, one foot planted in the drainage channel of the sidewalk, leaned forward to look.

The two men sitting on the edge of the windows shot from above the roof, while the driver clutched the gun in his free hand. The woman repeatedly replied to the fire and the car exploded, throwing the trio against the bank wall.

Then, out of nowhere, a minute figure appeared beside her, forcing her to turn around.

"A girl?" she whispered surprised, receiving the attention of the newcomer.

It was a young girl who could not be older than fourteen, one meter and a half taller. She had brown hair gathered in a pair of tails and her face seemed perpetually closed in an amused smirk. She wore a uniform of the Tokiwadai Academy, whose right sleeve was occupied by a green and white striped band.

"Miss, please stay back. Keeping security in the city is the job of Judgment, after all"

And, with that said, the girl began to walk in the direction of the robbers, crossing the battlefield as if nothing was happening.

She stopped just a couple of feet away from them, before taking a deep breath

"My name is Shirai Kuroko ... and I'm a member of the Judgment. You are under arrest for armed robbery and damage to public property!" she exclaimed, attracting the attention of the group.

They were staring at her for about one minute, before bursting into a roar of laughter.

" What does this brat want? "

" Is Judgment short of staff? "

"Hey, girl ... If you do not go right away you'll get hurt!" a member of the trio replied, raising his right hand in a fist, ready to hit the newcomer.

Kuroko did not let herself be intimidated and made a rapid rotation, avoiding the attack

"A phrase like that ..." she began, and then she launch a powerful kick in the stomach of the criminal

" It's like asking for death" she chuckled, throwing a fist to the man's head.

The robber fainted instantly, arousing a look of pure surprise from Ryouta. He turned his attention to his goons.

" OK, I hold her back, you bring the money safe" he ordered, receiving a nod by the group.

That said, the robber held his hand forward and it began to glow with a faint red light.

Kuroko squeezed both eyelids.

" Pirokinesi?" she asked, arousing an arrogant smile from the adversary.

" I will reduce you to ashes!"

As soon as Ryouta finished that mumble, the orange line exploded.

A sword of fire appeared, giving the impression that someone had opened a hydrant loaded with gasoline.

Then it began to change color gradually, like a burned picture with a lighter.

Kuroko was not touching the flames, but only looking at them, she felt her eyes burn.

She stopped suddenly and put her hands in front of face to protect herself. The fireball flew through the air at the speed of a gunshot, and then exploded like an erupting volcano.

Heat waves, flashes of light, black smoke and the sound of the explosion spread in all directions.

"Perhaps I exaggerated" the pyromaniac esper murmured.

Ryouta scratched his head at what appeared to be the result of a bombing. For security, he looked around, to make sure no one was coming. It was the first day of the summer holidays, so most of the residents were still sleeping. He did not need any other obstacles.

The esper could not see well in front of it because of the flames and the smoke.

However, he did not need to check. That blow had generated some terrible 3000 degree Celsius flames. At temperatures above 2000 degrees the human body melts before burning, so the girl was probably in the same state of the road, melted like a sugar sculpture. Surely, now she was lying on the asphalt, like a piece of chewing gum used.

Then, like from nowhere, the figure of Kuroko appeared before his eyes, completely unharmed.

The man did not even have time to express his surprise.

" What the ... "

The girl's fist sent him to the opposite wall, knocking him to the ground.

He tried to get up, but soon realized that he had the edges of his clothes glued to the asphalt. A long series of nails had been stuck in the tissue.

He looked up, turning his attention to Kuroko. She had remained still and motionless and she had both hands occupied by ten iron nails.

"A teleporter?" he asked resigned, receiving a grin from the girl.

" If you oppose resistance ... I will teleport the next one directly into your body" she whispered, the face turned into a scary smile.

With that said, she aimed his eyes at the fleeing robbers, before disappearing in a blur.

* * *

The first member of the group just had time to enter the driveway, before being hit in the back by a mighty flying kick.

Kuroko landed on top of him, placing a foot on the hand holding the gun

" Hey, be calm" she murmured, getting a curse from the man.

" Damn !"

"If you don't, I'll break your arm" she continued, before putting him K.O with a quick blow to the head.

She stood up and continued running, past the corner of the alley.

Just before she could go on, however, she stopped suddenly.

The remaining two criminals, in fact, were lying on the ground, prey to a series of convulsions due to electrical discharges.

At the center of the road there was a female figure turned from behind.

Kuroko took a step forward

"Miss, are you okay?" she asked, getting the girl's attention.

She turned around, giving the esper a perfect vision of her appearance.

The Teleporter arched an eyebrow

" Onee-sama ?!" she exclaimed, shocked.

Misaka Mikoto, Gakuen Toshi's third most powerful Level 5, dilated her pupils like a deer hit by the headlights of a car.

" Oh, uh ... hello, Kuroko" she said embarrassed, receiving a visibly angry expression from her friend.

" No **"hello Kuroko"** , Onee-sama! It's your first day of work" the Teleporter replied, in an exasperated tone "You should be in your office, not in the field!"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought to lend a hand" the electromaster said, receiving a visibly irritated look from the schoolmate.

" It's not your job!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in midair.

The older female just chuckled and glanced quickly at the crooks at her feet.

"Academy City is not really worthy of its name"

"Eh?" the other girl asked, apparently confused.

The Level 5 shrugged.

"Even with all its surveillance technology, not to mention the patrolling robots, criminals like those will never completely disappear," she said casually.

Next to her, the Teleporter nodded in acceptance.

"No matter how much technology can improve, there will always be someone who will end up giving themselves to crime, after all. This is precisely the reason why the organization Judgment exists" she proclaimed with pride.

Then, she released a sighed sigh.

"Anyway, it's better to go back to the station, or Konori-Senpai might decide to punish you for your transgression," she said angrily.

Mikoto rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, what could she do? Suspend me after my first day?"

* * *

 **Every Review is appreciated.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this new version of Touma. Mikoto is practically the same Level 5 that we all love, but in this story she will be a member of the Judgment and this will affect her psychological evolution. In the next chapter two new Level 5 will appear .**


	3. Chapter 3

**( Answer reviews )**

 **Guest : Yomikawa, in this story, is a sergeant. And don't worry, the blonde girl was not Misaki, she was a random OC. The Girl in Dress will appear…**

 **Notes : Some people had trouble following the story because I was using the original Academy City name, Gakuen Toshi. From this chapter I will only use Academy City.**

 **Furthermore, I will raise the raiting of the story from T to M, since I decided to represent sexual relations. In this chapter there will be one.**

 **As usual, anyone interested in becoming a beta-reader for this story can contact me, I need someone to help me manage English grammar, since I'm Italian.**

 **All reviews are welcomed !**

 **I don not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 :**

Judgment Point, center of Academy City, was the headquarters of the Judgment anti-crime organization.

Inside the main hall, sitting at a desk covered with folders and sheets piled up, there was Hamazura Shiage, an officer for about four years.

He was a boy about six feet tall, dressed in an orange sweatshirt and gray trainers. He had blond, unkempt hair, and he wore an expression halfway between a smile and a frown.

Among the district's most famous Level 0, he was best known for being a troublemaker and a former delinquent, which is why he was not very well seen by most of his colleagues.

In front of him sat a young girl with short black hair, adorned with a curious bun of flowers.

He wore a dark blue uniform and did not seem to be more than fifteen.

" It was a strange thing, Uiharu" Shiage began, his eyes fixed in the direction of the girl. " I had arrested Kurozamo, and, a moment later, the one free and run away"

The renowned Uiharu began to scrutinize him with an impassive gaze.

" Really? Has he hit you again?"

" No"

"So the handcuffs were pulled out?"

" Yes, exactly! it was amazing !" the Level 0 exclaimed, arousing a sigh by the girl.

Uiharu wrote everything in the report and proceeded to move away. It was obvious that she didn't believe the words of the blond, but this did not matter to Shiage. After all, no one could tell whether his story was true or not, with the exception of the criminal who had let go in exchange of a conspicuous bribe.

Did he feel guilty for doing it? A little, but not too much. In Academy City, after all, this sort of things were absolutely normal.

And talking about normal things ...

Kamijou Touma crossed the entrance to the district, preceded by a total of three visibly dented teenagers.

" What happened to you this time?" Hamazura asked, reciving the attention of his colleague.

He glanced quickly at the delinquents.

" Resistance to arrest" he said as a fact.

Shiage curled his lips in an amused smile.

" Yes? And what happened to them?"

"Er ... Resistance to arrest"

" ... You work too much" the blond muttered, receiving a shrug in return.

Just before Touma could move away, he pointed to the back of the room.

"By the way, the boss wants to see you," he informed him teasingly.

The Level 0 swallowed, visibly uncomfortable. The last thing he needed, right now, was some head wash.

Releasing a resigned sigh, he walked to the other side of the district and opened the door above which stood the gilded wooden plaque that said "Commissioner Konori Mii".

The office was characterized by a beautiful view of Gakuen Toushi's yacht marina and it was the spitting image of professionalism, as was the person sitting at the only desk in the room.

Konori Mii was a girl with a impeccable look, typical of female students with strong discipline and morality.

She had dark blue hair that came up to her shoulders, blue eyes like ice and she wore a pair of reading glasses that made her look even more resolute than she already appeared at a first glance.

She emanated an aura of respect and authority, worthy of the head of the Judgment department.

"I had not asked you to stay away from Level 5s ?" she asked in a cold and detached voice, making Touma start.

"I did it" he muttered, looking away to not meet the eyes of the superior.

"Aogami told me that you entered without a mandate" Konori continued, implacable " Now those three are free "

Upon hearing these words, the Level 0 stared at her in disbelief.

" Who says so?"

"Judge Attorney says so," the girl replied, slamming a file on her desk.

Touma took it and began to read it quickly.

"They did it quickly. If it wasn't impossible, I would say that they had a tip, "he muttered in a self-ironic tone.

Konori released a discontented sigh, turning an angry expression to the adolescent.

" Listen to me, Touma ... here in Academy City there are rules. Do yourself a favor: respect them. The last thing I want is to lose one of the only agents that remain to me not to be embroiled in some act of corruption"

"Is that how Judge Attorney got his packard in the parking lot? Respecting the rules?" the Level 0 asked, tightening both the eyelids of the eyes.

In response, Konori curled her lips in a knowing smile.

"Two things you can't get back in this job: the bullets that you shoot and the words that escape you"

"I'll keep it in mind," Touma answered, with a smile of his own. "Anything else?"

" Go away" the head of the department ordered, rolling her eyes.

The Level 0 did so.

He walked to the entrance of the department, just in time to see the trio of thugs being carried away by a small blonde girl with a pretty dress. She was turned away, which is why Touma could not identify her facial features, but for some reason she seemed familiar.

"Certainly, I'm not the first to tell you this, but ... don't wake up the sleeping dog, " Hamazura Shiage said, appearing next to his colleague.

The boy, however, stood firm and still, his gaze fixed on the criminals.

" Doesn't it make you angry?" he asked his companion, who just shrugged.  
" Nope ... not anymore".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Primitive man did not know the bar.

When he got up in the morning, he immediately felt a strong desire for coffee, but coffee had not yet been invented. There were not even bars to get together.

The bachelors put themselves in a semi-circle and exchanged barrels of club on their heads according to a specific ritual: it was a very crude fun and soon went out of fashion. So primitive men began to make themselves on the walls of caricatures, but this first attempt of a bar was a failure, something was still missing.

Then came the slow motion, the flashy tripping, the dry low shot, the foul from behind, the drunken dribbling, the header, the precise lob and the scandalous arbitrage.

The confusion was enormous, the conversation languished in burps and grunts.

Fortunately, one day the barman figure was discovered, or at least these were Touma's beliefs as he walked through Jo Jo Caffè's entrance.

The bar, located along the western outskirts of the city, was one of the main meeting points for most of the criminals who inhabited Gakuen Toshi.

Through the cacophony of sounds, intermittent lights and couples dancing to the rhythmic sound of music, the Level 0 glimpsed the person he was looking for.

In a corner of the bar, comfortably seated on a red leather sofa, sat a young girl of outstanding beauty.

Her hair was long and blond, almost golden, with soft locks that covered her entire back.

The skin as white as milk was highlighted by the student uniform of the Tokiwadai school, with a pair of matching gloves for each hand, whose right hand held what looked like a remote control.

The thin but elegant face was adorned with eyes whose pupils, perhaps due to some optical effect, looked like the spitting image of a pair of stars.

Touma knew that girl well: she was Shokuhou Misaki, better known as the Queen of Tokiwadai ... aka Mental Out, the fifth most powerful esper of Academy City and one of the city's most influential crime bosses.

Her particular ability to control and manipulate the mind, from which she had taken his code name, was among the most feared by the criminal circles of the urban complex, as it allowed to bend to her will any person that didn't possess the necessary countermeasures to counter it .

Thanks to his power, Touma was one of these lucky individuals and one of the few who could boast of the protection of the Level 5.

The young officer and Misaki, in fact, were childhood friends, which is why they had established a sort of mutual agreement to help each other. The girl's crimes, however influential, were confined mostly to casinos and gambling circles. Among the Level 5s who were at the head of Academy City's underworld, she was certainly the least violent, which is why Touma had agreed to ignore most of her illegal activities in exchange of valuable information on the underworld in the urban complex.

Currently, he was in the bar for this reason.

"What elegance" he commented, noting the neatly laid table where the student sat.

Misaki looked up at him, her face adorned with a playful smile.

" Have a seat " she greeted with a sparkling tone.

The teenager did as requested, limited to a quick: " Yes, willingly".

With that said, he turned a smile to the blonde, raising his right hand with a casual air.

" How are you, Misaki?" he asked in a gentle voice, while still holding a background of reproach.

The Level 5 seemed not to care about it too much. By now, she was well aware that her career choice was not among those that Touma could have appreciated. The thing bothered her, of course, but not so much to weigh on the feelings of affection she felt for the young officer. A feeling of friendship that bound them for over ten years, ever since they were both Level 0 just arrived in Academy City.

With those thoughts in mind, the blonde grabbed the glass filled with an amber liquid (probably white wine) that she had before and took a tasteful sip.

"There's a strudel in the kitchen, waiting only for your name," she said in a melodic voice, receiving a sigh of relief from the boy.

"My wallet thanks you," he muttered, bending his head to touch the surface of the table.

Misaki chuckled, glancing at him amusedly.

"I just thought you were hungry. Don't you get a winning number for how long, six weeks?"

" Seven" the young officer replied, impassively.

Internally, the girl could not help but start. Touma had never been the luckiest boy when it came to certain things. It was not surprising that the Level 0's financial situation was, to say the least, deplorable.

"I could help you. You know what I do with the races" she offered in a casual tone, hoping to break through the apparently incorruptible armor that covered the teenager.

Touma raised an eyebrow and raised his index finger.

"First of all, what you're suggesting is illegal. Secondly, you know I have a warrant for your arrest, don't you?"

"What's the accusation?" the girl replied.

In response, the Level 0 simply smiled.

"Usury" he said pleased, making the blonde lose his mocking grin.

"I don't think I know this word" she answered, putting a finger to her lips, innocently.

Touma just stared at her, impassive.

"Loan Sharking. Does It sound familiar to you? "

" Maybe" the esper replied, with a shrug.

With an irritated frown, the young officer crossed both arms in front of him.

" If you want, I can take it out and tell you the exact reason"

"I would rather not. It could upset me" Misaki answered, whose tone had assumed a suddenly cold cadence.

Almost like a signal, some people in the room suddenly stood up, like puppets to which the wires had just been pulled.

Touma passed his head from side to side, briefly placing his eyes on the remote control that the Level 5 held in her right hand.

With a soft sigh, he decided that the game was not worth the candle.

"So, what do you have for me?" he asked professionally, in an attempt to mislead the potentially catastrophic situation.

Misaki loosened her grip on the remote control and curled her lips in her usual smile.

"Accelerator is getting much more audacious than usual" she whispered, pointing to the most hidden part of the bar.

The young officer followed her with his eyes, noting a group of people sitting in the dim light of a circular table, elegantly set. And in the midst of that little crowd there was ... him. Accelerator, the most powerful Level 5 of Academy City and the most feared boss of the city underworld.

"Next to him there is Musujime Awaki, his personal killer," Misaki informed him, pointing to a young girl who stood out to the right of the albino.

He was young and wore rather revealing clothes. She had soft, chromium-plated hair, gathered in a pair of long braids that reached her back.

"In front of him, the honorable Judge Attorney" the Level 5 continued, pointing to a man standing right in front of the criminal. He was of Japanese ethnicity, visibly overweight, with a long beard, small eyes and mouse ears, in contrast to the black and white tuxedo that made him look more like a big penguin.

" Unabara Mitsuki, Accelerator's lawyer" Misaki resumed, aiming for a tall adolescent with a short chestnut hair, elegantly dressed and comfortably seated near the esper.

" On the other side of the table, you already recognize Tsuchimikado Motoharu. And then, of course, Komaba Rituku" she said, pointing at the last figure. He was a boy, probably twenty years old, tall and stocky, wearing a black leather jacket. Of all the members present, he was the only one that looked like a criminal.

And yes, Touma knew him well. He was the leader of Skill Out, a large organization made up exclusively by Level 0s.

"And why are they all here?" the young officer asked, tightening both eyelids.

In response, Misaki just shrugged, giving him a knowing smile.

" For what other reason? They are about to go to war".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Sitting at the same table of Accelerator, the Level 5's right-hand man, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, snapped a piece of meat from his plate, moaning with pleasure.

"Roast pigeon. The Romans went crazy for this stuff. They were class people" he commented to himself, receiving a disgusted expression from the only girl present at dinner.

"I still think we should have chosen a vegetarian menu," she muttered, crossing both arms in front of her curvaceous chest.

Next to the couple, Unabara Mitsuki curled his lips in an easygoing smile.

" Come on, Awaki, vegetarian foods don't do justice to what we are here for " he said in a calm and friendly tone. Then, he lifted a glass of red wine into the air. "Tonight we celebrate the birth of a new town, founded and created on the ruins of Academy City."

Upon hearing these words, Tsuchimikado, Awaki and Judge Attorney imitated the gesture, followed briefly by Accelerator.

Komaba, however, stood still, staring at the plate in front of him.

Seeing this, the most powerful Level 5 arched an eyebrow.

"Don't you like the pigeon, Komaba?" he asked in a cold and apparently casual tone.

In response, the Level 0 began to stare straight at him in those blood-colored pupils, his face adorned with a look that bordered on the purest rage.

"What you did to Hebitani ... it's a disgrace, Accelerator," he whispered coldly.

Almost like a signal, the temperature around the table seemed to fall and every single person stiffened with a click, with the exception of the albino.

"That man had come unarmed to you, under my order, to meet you in good faith. And you ... you killed him for no reason" the leader of the Skill Out continued, clutching both hands in clenched fists.

Accelerator stared at him impassively.

"You have crossed into my grassy meadow, Komaba. You had to expect some kind of retaliation, "he replied with a shrug.

The answer didn't seem to meet the Level 0 expectations, which pushed Awaki to bring a hand close to the gun she was holding on her thigh.

" Do you know what makes me crazy?" Rituku growled, whose face had become a furious and twisted mask. " That do you think you are new. I've known people like you, I grew up with them. Boys who believe themselves untouchable, who kill everyone to get to the summit. Don't you consider me far-sighted? It is the exact opposite. In fact, right now, I'm having a vision: one day you'll wake up and you'll end up with your best part stuck in your mouth!".

Next to Accelerator, Attorney swallowed hard and glanced quickly at the albino. To his surprise, however, the Level 5 had remained calm and detached in the face of the criminal's words.

The teenager passed his head from side to side of the table.

"Ah, sorry, were you talking to me?" he said pointing to himself, with a teasing smile.

Komaba was ready to get up, but Accelerator interrupted him with a little laugh.

" I'm joking. You're nice, I grant you. But I don't want to share the water with you anymore, "he whispered in a voice that would have freezing even the bones of the Judgmetn's most determined member.

Meanwhile, the Skill Out leader clenched his teeth so hard his gums bleed.

" You're just a laboratory waste "

" And you are a simple Level 0" Accelerator replied.

Komaba stared at him coldly.

" Yes, I am Level 0, but I have also many friends in my part of Academy City ... "

" Didn't you understand yet? You are no longer part of Academy City" the albino growled suddenly, surprising the other people present at the dinner.

"All this ... it's just a farce" he continued, slamming his hand on the surface of the table.

Some customers, attracted by the sound, turned to him.

" Never heard of the Destiny poster? It's when you get what you want when you can. And I will take everything from you, and not just because I can ... but because it is my destiny. Academy City is my fucking destiny, son of a bitch!"

And, with that said, the teenager jumped up, spitting on his plate and watching the leader of the Skill Out as if he was a simple insect.

"Thanks for dinner" he muttered with a wry smile, before moving away from the table, quickly followed by his subordinates, who stared at him uneasily.

Attorney passed his head from the Level 5 to Komaba, while the Level 0 looked shocked at the retreat of the albino who had just declared war to the largest criminal organization in Acadamy City.

* * *

Accelerator walked slowly and markedly through the crowd of customers, taking care to not disturb the couples dancing in the middle of the room.

He looked briefly at the bar counter ... and stopped.

Sitting on one of the many seats that adorned the side of the room, there was the most beautiful girl that the Level 5 had ever seen.

She was tall, almost as much as he was, and she wore a long, tight black dress that highlighted her soft curves and exposed her skin, as white as precious marble.

She had long brown hair that came up to his back, slightly moved. They framed a face with delicate features, adorned with a pair of large, shiny brown eyes. She looked almost like a model, but she was surrounded by an aura of threat and loneliness.

Accelerator quickly nudged Tsuchimikado, calling his attention.

" Since when does a fairy like that come to drink in a place like this?" he asked, pointing to the figure of the young woman.

Next to him, the blond released an impressed whistle.

" Mate, do you have a vague idea of who that "fairy" is?" He whispered, receiving an arched eyebrow by the esper.

" Enlighten me, genius"

" That, my crazy friend, is not other than Shizuri Mugino" the Level 0 revealed, with an amused smile.

The Level 5 passed his head from side to side and stared at the blond with an indecipherable expression.

"Are you fucking kidding? That would be the new Big Boss of Academy City? The fourth Level 5?"

"Yep, the one who is called the Meltdowner. She has climbed the top of the study program in less than six months, coming in fourth position. I still can't explain how it was possible in such a short time, but one thing is certain: give her an year and she will start to create problems even for us"

With that said, Tsuchimikado began to look around.

"You know ... this evening is very crowded. I could get close and take her out, keeping a low profile "he commented, like if he was discussing the weather.

Accelerator looked at him incredulously.

"What the fuck are you saying, are you crazy? I don't kill women. No, my friend, I have a better idea" he said in a contemplative tone, looking intently at the girl.

The blond looked at him hesitantly.

" Don't tell me that you want…"

" She is still new at the Job, this means that she needs political support" the other interrupted, before he could finish the sentence " She may prove to be a valid ally ... with the right dose of persuasion"

" Are you joking? You don't even know her! Listen to me, my friend, those like her are insatiable, they only bring trouble. And then, she comes from a family that is too sophisticated for your tastes"

"Don't tell me... Lucky me" the esper replied, with a victorious smile.

Next to him, Tsuchimikado raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

" I didn't do the sophisticated for weeks"

And, with that said, the Number One of Academy City walked towards the brunette with a sure step.

He sat down next to her and, keeping a casual tone, spoke to her.

" A beautiful girl, alone, in a seedy bar of Academy City. It almost seems like a cartoon situation"

The young woman continued to stare at her drink, giving no sign of having heard him.

Internally, Accelerator could not help but grin.

"But you ... you don't look like a girl from a cartoon. And you don't even look like a solitary drinker, "he continued in a friendly voice, barely turning the stool to face her.

Meanwhile, Mugino gave him a disinterested look, and then snorted with a resounder: Go away .

If he was surprised by the unequivocal rejection, the albino certainly didn't show it.

"I was just trying to make friendship," he said with a shrug.

In response, the Level 5 merely rolled her eyes.

"I already have too many friends, I don't need any more, especially one that looks like a lab rat," she muttered angrily.

This time, Accelerator's hand tightened briefly to the edge of the chair, leaving a deep furrow on the metal.

Referring to his past was a delicate topic, but she could not know, so he decided to her go, for this time.

" Lab rat, eh? I think you got a crab, woman. No one has ever dared to use me as a lab rat, understand? Maybe you trade me for someone else, "he replied arrogantly, trying to clear the conversation.

Mugino turned completely towards him, pointing to his head.

" Are you saying that the color of your hair is natural?"

"I never went to the beach. End of the speech" the esper answered coldly, tightening both his eyelids.

In front of him, the Level 5 curled her lips in an amused smile.

" Excuse me ... I didn't know that your complexion was so important for you" she commented with a mocking tone.

Accelerator clenched his teeth, suppressing a growl.

As Tsuchimikado would have certainly said, this girl had pepper between her legs. It irritated him ... and fascinated him at the same time.

"Hey, babe, what is your problem? " he asked suddenly, surprising the brunette. "You're a beautiful girl. You have a beautiful body, beautiful legs, beautiful face ... Only you got a look in your eye like you haven't been fucked in a year!"

Mugino raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at the albino's chest.

"Hey, asshole, who, why, when, and how I fuck is none of your business, okay?" she growled with a dangerous background of the voice.

Accelerator smiled tastefully and began clapping.

"Ah, now you're talking to me, baby. That I like. Keep it coming"

"Don't call me "baby"! I'm _not_ your baby, " she replied, raising her right hand.

As from nowhere, a globe of green light formed on the girl's palm, floating between the fingers of the Level 5 like a lantern. It was the power of the esper known as Meltdowner: the ability to create plasma rays powerful enough to destroy an army in the fraction of a few seconds.

The barman at the counter swallowed with fear, while Accelerator stared at it impassively.

" Tsk ...don't be so cold, it was just a joke" he declared amused, making a sign to the barman. The man jumped and proceeded to put a couple of drinks in front of the couple.

Mugino stared at the drink with a surprised expression. It was a Sapphire Martini, one of the most expensive items offered by the local.

" Well, you seem someone of some importance" she commented, slightly impressed.

The Level 5 smiled mysteriously at her.

" Try to guess " he said, sipping his cocktail.

The Meltdowner stared at him with a determined look, bringing a hand to her chin in deep contemplation.

"Let's see ... you're not big enough to be a loan shark ... nor you look like a corrupt policeman. I give up. What's your racket, honey?"

"I like games, for the most part"

" Charming. What kind of games?"

" Like post office " Accelerator answered, receiving another mocking sneer by the blackberry.

" Post office ? It's a kids game..."

" Not like I play it. In my racket it's like charity, "he interrupted, leaning slightly forward.

Mugino did the same, banging her long eyelashes innocently.

" Do you want to take me away by all this and make an honest woman out of me?"

The albino stared at her, and then ...

"Not at all ... I was just hoping to take you to bed"

" ... "

Faced with such a direct and audacious statement, the Meltdowner found herself unable to argue.

She looked at the boy , scanning him from head to toe, like if she were evaluating the article of an auction.

After what seemed an interminable time, she threw down the rest of the drink ... and smiled in a predatory way.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Accelerator opened the door of the hotel room, sliding through it with Mugino's body wrapped in his arms.

Meanwhile, the girl's soft, full lips were laid on the albino's, grabbing them like a cat struggling with her next victim.

The brunette pulled away to take a breath and admired what would be their room for the rest of the night.

"A luxury hotel overlooking Academy City. I'm starting to think that you're not just dealing with games"

" What can I say? I am a person full of surprises" Accelerator replied, drawing her to him and resuming kissing her.

Their tongues intertwined in an erotic and passionate dance.

The boy stroked her nape with his left hand, feeling the scented hair with crimson shades. At the same time, with the right hand he drew delicate circles on the still covered breasts of the Level 5.

Accelerator was visibly excited, so he decided not to dwell too much on how pleasant that contact was.

Without wasting time, he picked her up and threw her on the bed, standing on top of her and letting his eyes mirror themselves in Mugino's.

The brunette curled her lips in an amused grin and drew him to her, not wanting to be outdone.

Raising her back just enough to grab him, she began to take off his jacket and tear off his shirt, revealing the boy's body.

He was thin, but still well placed, with muscles highlighted by the white skin.

Accelerator followed her after few seconds, pulling her dress off her shoulders and cutting into the underwear of the criminal, as black as the dress she wore.

The Level 5 drank from that vision and slowly began to undo the girl's bra.

Mugino felt the esper sticking his index finger into the lingery cup, pushing it aside with measured patience and freeing a breast. He did the same with the second, while the girl's flesh swelled and her nipples hardened under that cold and calculating look.

Within a few minutes, the garments of both espers were scattered all over the floor of the room. Accelerator began to kiss her neck, gently sliding her hands along her hips and thighs.

The brunette sighed happily, satisfied by those delicate touches, and began to stroke his back, while her legs encircled his waist.

"Preliminaries? Are you perhaps shy?" she asked him with a winking look.

Faced with that challenge, the albino grinned amused and held his head forward, nibbling the girl's skin in a frantic and wild way.

Anxieties, sighs and screams of pleasure resounded throughout the room, while the couple of criminals was enveloped in an aura of pure ecstasy.

The Number One of Academy City could feel a wide range of emotions making their way inside him: excitement, lust ... all accentuated by the sweet scent of the young woman and the aroma of sex.

At the same time, Mugino felt an immense pleasure, while she felt him rub against her body.

Then, she felt something warm and pulsing making her way between her thighs and she smiled blissfully.

In general, a normal girl would immediately give in to the care of that wonderful feeling ... but Mugino was not normal and she would not easily be tamed. No, she was a tiger. And right now, the albino whose name she didn't even know ... was her prey.

With that thought in mind, she rotated on herself, reversing the positions.

Now it was she who stood above the figure of Level 5 and looked into his eyes with a captivating smile.

She began to kiss him vigorously, moving her pelvis at the same time.

From his mouth she began to nibble at his earlobe, then move to his neck and finally his chest. She kissed his belly, sinking her tongue into his navel and giving him a smile of victory.

Accelerator repressed a moan, not willing to give up such an advantage.

The expert and sensual touches of the Number Four were inebriating, almost narcotic, and led him to wish that the contact would never end.

Meanwhile, the girl began to bite him along the clavicle and shoulders.

The nails of the young woman stuck firmly into Level 5's back, leaving deep, bloodied furrows.

Accelerator did not mind that pain. He craved him with all of himself and it pushed him to keep his nerves steady. The girl in front of him was not a succubus. No, she was a real predator, a strong, proud and beautiful beast. In some ways ... she was perfect.

This perverse game amused him enormously, so he grabbed her thighs violently and lifted his head to sink it into her breasts, starting to kiss and lick it with his tongue.

He nibbled at her nipples, letting Mugino escape a shriek of pure pleasure.

She endured the delicious attack of his lips and his skillful fingers, capable of lighting every single nerve ending, to the point that the whole body of the Level 5 began to resonate with that sweet agony.

She felt the skin become hot. She was on fire, hot and cold at the same time, while she clung to the sheet of the bed with force.

"Oh ... please" she pleaded, upsetting the head backwards and slightly widening the legs.

Taking advantage of that moment of weakness, the albino sank inside her and the brunette arched her back, approaching the lover's scalp and clutching it to herself as if she couldn't longer do anything else.

For what seemed an interminable time, the couple seemed to devour each other, while the boards that held the bed began to creak.

As the sensation of warmth and pure ecstasy grew louder, their gasps and moans grew in tandem.

Mugino and Accelerator looked at each other straight in the eyes, red against brown, their faces decorated with excited smiles.

Their bodies, wet and sweaty, shone under the moonlight that filtered through the bedroom window.

Then, when they both reached their climax, there was a cry that resounded throughout the length of the room.

The brunette slumped exhausted on the lover's chest, breathing heavily. At the same time, Accelerator hugged her, pressing the limbs of Level 5 with a loving touch.

Mugino smiled blissfully and raised her head, meeting the satisfied look of the albino.

She leaned forward and kissed him tenderly one last time, before succumbing to exhaustion.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yes, ladies and gentlemen. In a world of people who ship Hamazura and Mugino, Accelerator and Last Order, or even Touma and Mugino (even if I don't understand why) I think I am perhaps the first to write a story with Accelerator x Mugino . And the thing, for me, is very strange, because these two really have a LOT in common.**

 **Think about it. Accel and Mugino have exactly the same path: two 5 psychopaths Level 5 who, after being beaten by a level 0 and having suffered serious injuries, have tried to redeem themselves and take care of a child connected to a person who remembers someone they have killed.**

 **And this is very clear from their team up against Kakine in Volume 6 of the NT, where they are fantastic, I loved their conversation and their synergy.**

 **This is why I like them so much and this fan fiction will not be the only one that I'll publish with this ship.**

 **But they will not be the only couple of the story….**


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes :**

 **( Answer reviews )**

 **Guest : Sorry, but…no. This is a serious story, so no harem for anyone. Only couples or love triangles.**

* * *

 **If you are a fan of the Level 5, I started a you tube channel where I make video about them.**

 **This is an AMV bout them : watch?v=81paM21cIKE &t=71s**

 **This is an Accelerator Trailer, using The Punisher trailer : watch?v=OF-sQBcKpEo &t=18s**

 **This is an Accelerator x Mugino Trailer using Mr and Mrs Smith Trailer : watch?v=NLxJHSK0EaY**

 **Oh, and one person ask me if there will be magic in this story . The answer is no, only science. There will be magic-side characters, but not magic.**

 **I don not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 _We are all born, but not all are born equal._

 _Growing up, some become butchers, bakers or blacksmiths, others become good only to complain. However, the fact remains that every human being is unique in its kind, for better or for worse._

 _And perhaps no one knew this better than the child who today bore the name Acceleretor._

 _Ever since he was a child, he had always liked the smell of books, a smell of spice, which was nostalgic._

 _From time to time he would pass through the adult shelves in the orphanage library, gazing at thousands of volumes and imagining a world of lives within each of them. At other times, however, walking through the streets in a smoky and smoky twilight of a late October afternoon, the sun reduced to a line of dark orange on the horizon, imagined the lives that took place behind all those windows: people laughing or they quarreled or arranged the flowers or fed the children or dogs and cats, or drank themselves watching television._

 _How often he wanted to have a friend, a good person, and as brave as the heroes of his books. He suspected, however, that like the talking dragons and manga characters, these people existed only in fairytale books._

 _But he would soon discover that he could be a friend of himself, possessing a force he was not aware of._

 _And he would need it ... very soon._

 _Currently, the young albino stood, completely still, lined up with nine other kids: five males and five females in total, including him._

 _They were in a reformatory located in a city of which Accelerator had only heard the name a few times: Gakuen Toshi, also known as Academy City._

 _Soon, the child realized that the structure in which he had been taken was not a simple rehabilitation center._

 _With the white walls covered in milk-white tiles, the neon lights that stood out on the ceiling and the polished and immaculate floors, it looked more like one of those labs he had seen numerous times in science fiction movies that they broadcast on the orphanage TV during Saturday evening._

 _With that thought in mind, he glanced quickly at the other kids in the room and noticed how many of them looked nervous._

 _Then, beyond the only door present in that sterile room, a loud and scratchy voice was heard, like the sound produced by the claws of a cat that was cutting through the sandpaper of a wall under construction._

 _"Ugh, I hate children, they're worse than ants. Little uncivilized brutes that only serve to waste money. All the fault of the parents, if you ask me"_

 _" Parents?" a second voice asked, much milder and more ordinary._

 _" Who does not beat his son does not like the stick. This is my motto" the first voice replied, convinced._

 _" Er ... a very good motto, sir"_

 _" Did life punish you with children?"_

 _The second voice seemed to sigh._

 _" A male, Tomaba. It's a real disgrace"_

 _"Children are all a disgrace: ugly, dirty and stupid. Fortunately I was born growth"_

 _And then, the door opened, revealing a pair of figures._

 _Entering the room was a man of considerable stature, lean body and blond hair shot up. He wore a red shirt, black pants and a long lab coat. But the most distinctive feature was the pointed tattoo that adorned part of his face, whose eyes showed cruelty and malice._

 _Next to him, however, there was a short, stocky man, slightly overweight, dressed very much like his colleague._

 _"Shit, it will be a long year," the blond muttered, and Accelerator could immediately see that he was the owner of the first voice he had heard._

 _The man took a few steps forward, looked at the assembled children and, after spending a good minute looking at them, he clapped both hands in a loud toll._

 _" All right, brats!" he exclaimed feverishly. " I am Amata Kihara, responsible for this structure and your Head Instructor! From now on you can only speak when you are asked, and the first and last word that must come out of your sewers will be "yes, Kihara-kun"! All clear, shiters?"_

 _Faced with such a declaration, the kids couldn't t do anything but consent._

 _"Yes, Kiharah-kun"_

 _"Ah, what the fuck, I don't hear you! Answer as if you were aiming at a gun!" the shouted, whose face had suddenly assumed a twisted expression._

 _Then, he curled his lips in a smile that even Accelerator found nothing less than gruesome._

 _" Instead, better give you an incentive" the blonde muttered, putting a hand in his pants pocket and pulling out ... a gun! A gun that was pointing straight at them!_

 _The albino's mind began to run, while with the rest of the comrades he exclaimed a quick and sonorous voice: "Yes, Kihara-kun!"_

 _Amata seemed satisfied with the performance and swung the weapon, walking in front of the group with a casual air._

 _"If you young ladies will be able to support the program ... and if you survive the training ... you will be a weapon! You will be dispensers of death and you will pray to fight! But until that day ... you're a spit! The lowest form of life in the globe! You're not even fucking human beings, you'll just be shapeless pieces of amphibious organic matter commonly called "shit"! " he continued, giving particular emphasis to the last word._

 _He turned to the children, with a look that made most of those present shiver._

 _Accelerator had to refrain from saying something offensive. He knew that, in such a situation, he would not have succeeded with a simple slap on his hands._

 _" Since I am a bastard ... " Kihara resumed, "I don't expect to like you ... but the more you hate me the more you will learn! I'm a bastard, but I'm right! Here we do not make distinctions of age, here we respect the mob as delinquents, foreigners and newborns! Equality is in force here: nobody fucking counts!"_

 _Then he stopped right in front of Accelerator and looked at him from head to toe._

 _" My orders are to skim all those who don't have the necessary balls to become high level espers! Understand well, shiters ?!"_

 _"Yes, Kihara-kun" answered the albino, in chorus to the rest of the children._

 _Once again, the man in the lab coat pointed his gun at them._

 _"Ah, what the fuck, I didn't hear you!"_

 _"Yes, Kihara-kun!" they repeated with greater emphasis._

 _But at that moment ..._

 _"Pff, sympathy here is the password"_

 _Everyone got stuck, including Amata._

 _Accelerator dilates the pupils._

 _It was ... it was him. Shit, why had he thought out loud? Of all the moments when his damned mouth could choose to betray him ..._

 _Maybe it was the adrenaline, the stress of the situation ... but now, nothing mattered. He had become a target._

 _"… Looks like we have a comedian among us, a little "Joker"!" Kihara exclaimed, leaning forward and staring straight into the eyes._

 _" I admire sincerity. Yes, yes, I like you, come home and you'll fuck my sister"_

 _And then, with great rapidity, the man hit him in the face with a powerful fist, knocking him to the ground._

 _Accelerator spat blood. He probably had broken his nose._

 _" Stand up you, fetid sack of goat's dung" the man coldly ordered._

 _In front of him, the rest of the children began to murmur with concern._

 _"Close those sewers, you!" Amata shouted, silencing them instantly. " Here only three rules are worth, pus piles: I am a genius and you are stupid, I am big and you are small, I am right and you are wrong! I've been clear? Here, in this research center ... I am your God!"_

* * *

Accelerator woke up with a start, dropping his body like a stem of grass hoisted by the wind.

Tense muscles highlighted the gravity of his nightmare, while the skin was soaked with sweat.

He panted profusely, looking around and thinking about the Institute.

It had been a long time since he dreamed of it and the boy couldn't explain why the ghosts of his past had decided to persecute him that night. Perhaps the words of Tomaba had struck him more than he had wanted.

Next to him, Mugino was gone. Probably she already left the hotel. Normal behavior, he thought, they had just met and it was only one night's adventure.

He turned his head ... and saw the graceful figure of the young woman next to the door, with her naked limbs covered by a sheet.

He was watching him with a slightly worried look. Evidently she witnessed his rude awakening.

The girl approached the bed with a stealthy step and sat down next to him.

"I guess it was not the classic Boogieman nightmare" she said to play down the event.

"No, it was much worse," the albino answered, wiping his forehead with his forearm.

The Level 5 took a small cup from the kitchen of the room, returned to the teenager and handed it to him.

"Maybe he can help you. In the morning coffee is ideal, especially for this brand. My father always made it"

"Thanks" the espert muttered, grabbing the drink and sipping it with pleasure.

Once finished, he turned to the young woman with an intrigued expression.

" How did you know that I'll take it black?"

Mugino shrugged.

" Well, we all know that the Number One of Academy City goes crazy for 100% natural coffee" he answered nonchalantly, bringing a lock of hair behind his ear.

Accelerator stared at her with an indecipherable look.

"So you managed to understand it," he said impassively.

Mugino smiled mischievously.

" It was not that difficult. As I told you last night, you don't look like a loan shark or a corrupt policeman. Dress flawlessly, you just need a snap of your fingers to get two thousand yen drinks without having to pay a penny and you can afford a suite on the top floor of one of the most popular hotels in Academy City. In this city, such influence can only be gained if you are a big piece, and not those who use the…legal ways. And you're too young to be part of the urban council"

"But how could you know he was me? I'm certainly not the only boss of Academy City" he observed, curling both lips in an amused grin.

The Level 5 returned the gesture, shrugging a second time.

"In fact I didn't know it. There are no pictures of you in the data-base of the city, so I tried to guess ... and your reaction confirmed my suspicions, tiger"

And, having said that, she leaned forward, letting her sweet brown eyes mirror themselves in the red of the albino ones. Then, with a playful expression, she licked his cheek.

"This is the taste of a liar," she whispered almost to herself. " But an honest liar ... and above all, cute"

The Number One stared at her confused. He started to reply, but the brunette stopped him, placing a finger on his lips.

" To be clear, I am not upset with you. Not after the wonderful night you let me pass" she said softly and persuasively.

She hugged herself to the figure of the Level 5, moving her head slightly to look at him.

" Tell me, what did you dream of? If you want to talk about it. I don't oblige you, "she continued quickly, knowing that disturbing someone of his caliber was never a good idea.

Accelerator glanced at her.

"I would rather not," he replied coldly, receiving a sympathetic nod in return.

They remained in a comfortable silence for about a couple of minutes.

Then, Accelerator decided to give voice to the doubt that had begun to hammer in his head since the beginning of that unusual conversation.

" You know who I am, yet you don't look scared of it" He observed with a slight frown.

Mugino stared at him, not letting the slightest sign of discomfort show through.

"I find myself curious about why you decided to approach me. If you wanted to kill me ... well, you would certainly not have brought me to bed, "she explained as a matter of fact.

The Level 5 chuckled.

"Smart girl. But you're right, I have an offer for you" was his concise answer.

The young woman sent him a provocative grin, almost as if she was challenging him to continue.

" I don't like negotiating with the competition"

" Do you want to leave?"

"No ... I want a reason to stay" she whispered, placing a finger under his chin. "What is your ambition?"

" Rebuilding this city" the albino said, without even taking the time to think. " I want to bring out all its hidden beauties. Unleash its potential"

"You know, you speak like an artist"

" I am a man who has a dream" the other replied, scornfully.

At hearing these words, the smile on Mugino's face seemed to grow bigger.

"What do you think he's an artist?" she asked rhetorically.

Accelerator raised an eyebrow.

"I suppose a man with great ambition," he muttered bitterly, collapsing on the bed.

Next to him, the Level 5 proceeded to curl up against the figure of the albino, resting his head in the crook of his neck.

Almost unconsciously, the teenager found himself stroking her hair.

"I did some things that I'm not very proud of, Mugino. I hurt people and hurt others in the future, I can not help myself to reach my goals. But I don't like acting like that. Be cruel ... but this city is not a caterpillar at all, it doesn't close in a cocoon to wake up like a butterfly, a city breaks up and vanishes. He must die before he can be born again"

" So I don't have to worry?" the brunette asked, enjoying the touch of the hyper.

Accelerator stared at her seriously.

"No, if you're standing next to me. You will be safe and you will not have to fear anything"

"Do you want me to work for you?" Mugino asked, squeezing his eyelids. Almost like a signal, the air around her began to crackle with an intense green glow.

The Level 5 chuckle.

"I'm not so arrogant to think that you would accept being second to none. No, I'm offering you a place at the table"

"Directly to the Number One desk? What an honor ... do you often make offers like this?" she said teasingly.

This time, Accelerator could not help but suppress a grin. " Not this way, no"

Mugino rolled her eyes, before casting a serious look at him.

" What do I gain?"

" Influence, territory, and my support" the esper listed, as if he was discussing the most obvious thing in the world.

The other Level 5 arched an eyebrow.

" And in return?"

" YOUR support" the albino replied, with a teasing smile.

The girl known as Meltdowner stood firm and still, scanning the teenager with a cold and inquisitorial gaze.

After what seemed an interminable time, she closed her face in a predatory smile.

"I'm in," she said in a subdued whisper.

In response to that statement, Accelerator's smile grew larger.

Then, Mugino raised his head and leaned forward, until their mouths were a little more than a couple of inches away.

" Do we seal the agreement with a kiss?" she asked in a soft and sensual voice.

The Level 5 shrugged.

" When you are in Rome ..."

And, with that said, he closed his lips with those of the brunette.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

When the seed of violence sprouts in the city of men ... when darkness grows in consciousness and cloud the boundaries between good and evil ... then the moon illuminates the mind of the pure in heart and shows them the way that leads to justice. And arms the defenders of the law with fangs and claws, because only through blood can peace be achieved.

This Kamijou Touma would have learned that same day, even if he could not yet know it.

He was currently in his dorm room, where, as the air conditioning was broken, there was a lot of heat. The cause seemed to have been a thunderbolt, which during the night had made 80% of household appliances in the neighborhood unusable.

As a result, even the contents of his fridge had gone bad.

Touma had tried to eat a bowl of instant ravioli that he kept for emergencies, and then pour them into the sink.

Without alternatives, he had decided to go out to eat, but while he was looking for his wallet he had broken his prepaid by crushing it with his foot.

The Level 0 scratched his pointed hair and looked around the room. As long as he owned his savings account, he could easily get a new prepaid, but the real problem was the fridge ... or rather, breakfast.

While taking off the t-shirt used as pajamas and putting on a summer uniform, the teenager took into consideration the idea of stopping at a supermarket on the way to school. Because of his appointment with Misaki, he had remained in vain all night long, so now he had a great headache due to lack of sleep. In any case, he forced himself to think positive.

Then, the sound of the door bell echoed throughout the length of the apartment, attracting his attention.

The teenager walked calmly to the door, armed with a gun. The members of the Judgment were not allowed to bring them into service, of course, but Kamijou still had the gun license. And, after yesterday's stunt, the last thing he wanted was to be taken by surprise by the men of Kakine Teitoku who had come to him to take revenge.

With those thoughts in mind, he opened the door just enough to see who had played the intercom.

He was a man of apparently European nationality, about sixty. He wore a black suit and had gray hair gathered in a ponytail.

"I am Walter Dornez" he showed up, with a quick bow.

Touma raised his right eyebrow and stared at him cautiously.

" And who is Walter Dornez?"

" The leader's driver. He would like to exchange a few words with you" the alleged "guest" answered, keeping a calm and quiet tone of voice.

That sentence could have meant a thousand things ... but deep down, Kamijou Touma knew well who the man was referring to.

With a resigned sigh, he spent the next ten minutes dressing and followed him to a long black limousine.

Inside, there was a person of foreign nationality. He was a man of short stature, thin and with long silver hair that rested on his shoulders, elegantly dressed. He looked young, yet the Level 0 was more than aware that this individual must have at least fifty years.

Because he was none else than Aleister Crowley, the general director of Academy City and the creator of the city itself, as well as the Esper Program.

Touma swallowed hard and sat down on the opposite seat of the car, while the man watched him coldly through a pair of eyes that looked like ice.

" Agent Kamijou" Aleister began, with a warm and refined, almost melodic voice. " Recently responsible for the closure of one of Kakine Teitoku's most profitable brothels. Kill the fat calf, please ... because I found my Prodigal son"

With that said, the man grabbed a leather-bound file and began to leaf through it.

" Five years at the service of Judgment, with a total of 37 arrests, ability to undo the powers of others with his right hand ... trained in field X"

"I've never heard of it," Touma said, faster than he would have liked.

In response, Crowley merely smiled.

"Of course not," he offered in a sympathetic tone. **Maybe TOO sympathetic** , it was the thought that crossed the mind of Level 0.

"With all due respect, can I ask you why I'm here?" He asked, visibly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Alastair chuckled, apparently amused by the words of the young officer.

"Because I'd like to talk to you, Mr. Kamijou. Of the war ... to conquer the soul of Academy City" the man said, looking seriously at the esper.

Meanwhile, the car began to move and Aleister turned his gaze towards the window, admiring the view that lay beyond the vehicle door.

" You know, I had the idea to build this place to save my daughter from cancer, since at the time there were no treatments that were able to prevent it. During its early years it was a beautiful place, a place where scientists from all over the world could come together and discover new ways to advance humanity towards a brighter future. And now ... we are slowly giving it to a group of kids who play gods with the gifts we offered them, "he whispered coldly.

He turned his head to Touma.

" No matter how many crimes are committed, no one will ever testify against a Level 5. Know that it would be suicide, because this is not a wave of crime ... it's a war" he continued, pointing a finger at the young officer.

" I need you to organize a guerrilla to fight it, Mr. Kamijou" he said with his usual calm and collected voice, surprising the teenager.

The Level 0 remained stationary, open-mouthed, as if it had been petrified.

" I need men" he murmured suddenly, in a subdued tone and, at times, slightly incredulous.

Aleister shrugged.

" You can recruit them. You will not be on the reports ... and you will not be allowed to make arrests"

"... Are you asking me to kill, sir?" Touma asked hesitantly.

The general director of Academy City rolled his eyes.

" Of course not, if the bosses of the underworld die, their empire will continue to live through others" he replied scornfully, waving a hand to emphasize.

" You will undermine every operation ... destroy any activity ... and bring back all the rebel Level 5 to the sheepfold!"

Faced with such an order, Kamijou Touma could only respond in one way.

" ... Yes sir".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Terrorism passes. Organized crime remains.

This Kakine Teitoku, second Level 5 of Academy City, knew it well.

He had been in charge of the SCHOOL for over six years and he had managed to extend his influence to most of Gakuen Toshi's illegal activities during that period.

Since he was a child, he had always wanted to be a gangster.

For him, living in any other way was crazy. For him, those good people who did shit jobs for a shitty paycheck and went to work every day on the subway and were always in pain for the bills to pay ... for him they were corpses, they were snipers, people without balls .

Exactly like his father, a construction worker who died suicidal because he was too cowardly to be able to tell his wife that he was fired.

If Kakine Teitoku needed something ... he took it. If one complains more than once he had pinched it ... he finished complaining forever. It was just ordinary administration.

If he wanted a woman ... well, he didn't need to work too hard.

Tall, blond and with a keen sense of aesthetics, Kakine Teitoku was certainly among the most coveted bachelors in the city. The fact that it was the second most powerful esper in circulation did nothing but increase his prestige.

But currently, the head of the SCHOOL organization was not happy.

" The whores do not grow on trees" he murmured in a low voice, glancing quickly at a very agitated Hicoichi Tetsu. To support him was the usual couple of criminals whose names he could never remember. After all, he never bothered to learn them.

"They are like wild horses: you have to capture and tame them before you teach them certain tricks. That's why I need a quiet place to have the girls locked up. And hold them in the snare with the drug " he continued relentlessly, leaning forward and staring straight at the teenager.

He swallowed hard, until Kakine pointed to the huge blood stain that stood on his clothes.

" Look the jacket, you're dirty" he said in a relaxed tone, moving away from the subject.

Then, he began to speak again.

" But that cop stands out here from nowhere like the frost in the morning. And now my sparrow breeding is ruined" he whispered coldly.

Behind him, his henchmen carried their hands towards the guns holster, but the Level 5 signaled them to stay.

" But what the heck ... Life continues!" he exclaimed suddenly, surprising Tetsu.

"A man becomes important, he is expected to have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm ... Enthusiasm. What are mine? What attracts my admiration? What is it in life that gives me joy?" he asked rhetorically, turning his attention to his subordinates.

"Women!" One said.

"Drink!" another one offered.

" Money!"

" Power!"

All great suggestions. But Kakine Teitoku had other ideas in mind.

He held out his right hand and, as from nowhere, something materialized between the boy's fingers: a bat for...

"Baseball!" the blond exclaimed, arousing a slight laugh from the henchmen.

After all, it was not the first time they witnessed the power of their leader. Kakine Teitoku, in fact, possessed a rather unique esper ability: the ability to control the Dark Matter of the universe and use it to fabricate whatever he wanted or could imagine. Reason why it was known to most with the title of Dark Matter.

"A man ... A man arrives at the base," the blond resumed, circumnavigating the figures of Tetsu and his accomplices. " He's only. This is the moment for what? To enjoy personal success! He's standing there, alone ... But on the field, what is him? He's just part of a winning team"

He began to swirl the bat.

" He looks, throws, catches, run, but he's just part of a team. All the great champions we clap at the stadium are beating for themselves. But if their team doesn't work ... what are they?" he asked in a tone full of expectations.

Most of the underlings murmured a "nothing", prompting a satisfied smile from the Level 5.

" Do you follow me? Nobody! There is a beautiful sun, the stands are full of people. And what can he say? "I'm going out there and playing for no one? ... I will not get anything if my team doesn't win!"" he ended with a friendly voice.

Tetsu nodded hesitantly.

" That's right, it's the team that counts ..."

He did not even have time to finish the sentence.

Kakine hit him with the bat straight on the head and kept doing it, repeatedly, until the boy's battered and bloodied body stopped moving.

Then, he turned his head to the frightened couple of criminals he had brought with him.

"You ... what's your name?" He asked, indicating the teenager covered with piercing.

"Trick," he stammered, swallowing in fear.

The Level 5 smiled.

" Congratulations ... you've just been promoted".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **I hope you liked this version of Kihara Amata, Kakine and Alastair. And, of course, the relationship between Accel and Mugino.**

 **All reviews are welcomed…please.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes :**

 **Here's a new chapter !**

 **( Answer review )**

 **Guest : Yeah, there will be a love triangle with Touma. I don't say with who, becouse, well...it will be a surprise !**

 **Important : If you like the ship Accelerator x Mugino Shizuri, I published a Valentine's story about them : s/13207706/1/Broken-souls**

 **I also started to publish a hand drawn comic on deviant art about them : akusenpai/art/Void-Cover-786866278**

 **Check my others fan art if you like it !**

 **As always, I'm Italian, so I apologize for all the grammatical errors you will find ( I'm still searching for a beta reader ).**

 **I don not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

With the two claws menacingly outstretched like the arms of a fighter, the big scorpion, a pandinus, came out with a dry rustle from the crack of the rock.

Out of the hole was a small clod of earth, and the scorpion stopped there, leaning on the four pairs of legs, ready for a quick retreat and with the senses alert to pick up the imperceptible vibrations that would determine his next move. Becouse of that, it didn't notice the foot that ended his life.

Accelerator stared briefly at the smashed arthropod, before taking a quick breath of air.

At three in the morning the smell of the casino, the smoke and the sweat would have nauseous to anyone. At that time, the inherent wear and tear of gambling - mixed with greed, fear and nervous tension - became intolerable. The senses awakened and twisted in disgust. But not to him. Not at the most powerful Boss of Gakuen Toshi.

Currently, he was facing a small house made of wood and red brick, in one of the uninhabited areas of the city suburbs.

Following him were Mugino Shizuri, fourth Level 5 of the Academy City, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, his right-hand man, Musujime Awaki, his personal hit girl, and Unabara Mitsuki, the lawyer of the esper.

" We will start immediately" the albino began, entering the house. " But first we need some things, before we can do the real work".

The house was full of wooden crates and broken boards, above which dust and debris had accumulated due to the passage of time.

"Nice," Mugino said, looking at the house with a critical look.

Accelerator chuckled, apparently amused by the young woman's affirmation.

"I know that at the moment it doesn't look too good, but this will be the jewel of my crown" he said beating his right hand over one of the many crates in the room.

Once this was done, he spread both arms like a presenter.

"Welcome to the El Dorado cast! We are in the middle of a money-making machine. It almost gives me dizziness" he mumbled, receiving skeptical expressions from his subordinates.

Mugino, however, just stared at him with placid interest, which prompted the Level 5 to continue.

" Whores and drugs are in the hands of the Number Two and Skill Out. But totalizator bets? Bang!" He said imitating a combat pose, throwing a fist forward to give emphasis.

"External bets? Ba-bang! And the real money will be here, "he continued, indicating what surrounded them.

"We'll be opening this place in a few weeks, and all the betting traffic on the Japanese coast will pass through this room. Fucking Millions! I wouldn't make any more money, even if I were printing them, "he whispered, arousing a small smile from Mugino.

At that moment, the albino knew he managed to convince her. Now, the Level 5 would have witnessed the benefits of their collaboration and the possibility that she would turn against him would fall dramatically.

" And what will the unions of the other cities say?" Unabara asked, his face adorned with an indecipherable frown.

Accelerator released a loud puff.

"That is the past. This is the future" he said in a tone that didn't allow replies: " I will let them withdraw with the money we will make here. I will buy every politician from here to Tokyo, and within a year I will have all Japan wrapped up and with a bow".

Then, he glanced quickly at the group of people.

"The question is ... are you with me?" He asked in a voice full of expectation.

Faced with such a question, there was only one answer that would have satisfied the albino.

And to give it was none other than Tsuchimikado.

"100%".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Fortune was a servant, not a mistress. You had to accept it with a shrug, or exploit it to the extreme.

But a person needed to understand it and recognize it for what it was, and not confused with an incorrect calculation of probabilities. Because in gambling mortal sin was to exchange a bad play with bad luck. And luck, with all its whims, must not be feared, but loved.

Or, at least, these were the beliefs of Hamazura Shiage, as he proceeded to scrape the next issue of the lottery ticket he bought that same morning.

While he was intent on doing this, I hardly notice the figure of Kamijou Touma approaching his desk.

" I'm putting on a team. I'm looking for an Indian guide who knows the area" the teenager began, receiving an impassive expression from the blond.

The Level 0 passed his head from him to the lottery ticket.

"I'd like to help you, but I'm dealing with a very important case," he said, pointing to the piece of paper he held in his hands.

As he began to scratch the last number, he turned his side to the colleague.

"Who is the lucky winner?" He asked with a slight hint of curiosity.

Touma stared at him hesitantly.

" All of them" he answered after a long silence, causing Hamazura to stop suddenly.

He stared at the young officer in disbelief, before releasing a loud snort.

"Good luck," he said with an undertone of amusement.

Kamijou raised an eyebrow.

" Is that all you want to tell me?"

" Mate, the city is under water ... and you look for a bucket when you need a swimsuit. Do you understand?" the other asked, with a shrug.

Touma sighed discontent.

" Shit, Hamazura, what happened to you?"

" The same thing that happened to all Level 0 of this city" the blond retorted. "Only that I adapted myself"

And, after saying that, he placed the lottery ticket on the desk surface, turning completely to face the colleague.

" You will never be able to change Academy City, Touma. One day you will wake up and you will find yourself on the wrong side of the knife. And for what?"

"If you can't answer this question ... you should remove that band" the Level 0 mumbled, indicating the symbol of Judgment.

Hamazura looked briefly at the green and white striped emblem.

When he turned, Kamijou Touma had already left.

* * *

Touma entered the office of Commissioner Mii with a slow and respectful step, keeping a professional expression.

He contacted Konori as soon as the meeting with Alastair ended, reporting to her all that he had been ordered to do from the upper floors. Needless to say, the girl was not happy to know about the interference by the Council, but she agreeded to assist him in the operation.

"So, what do you have for me?" the Level 0 asked, circumnavigating the desk in the room and putting himself behind the superior.

Konori gave him a quick glance, before handing him a few briefcases.

"Best of course, best of the course, best of the course ..." he listed, raking up each issue " You know, if I were the head of a big criminal organization ... these would be the first people I would try to bribe"

"So I should find other bums like me?" Touma asked, his face adorned with an ironic smile.

In response, the girl just shrugged.

"I'm just saying that people out of the chorus would be right for us," he offered in a tone of fact, pulling another set of folders from the desk drawer.

The first contained the image of a young girl with long brown hair gathered in a pair of braids.

"Shirai Kuroko, a teleporter and a Level 4" the commissioner began, placing the bound in the hands of the boy. "I know her personally and I know she's a person we can trust, 100% incorruptible"

"I put her on the list," Touma answered, after analyzing the information in the file.

Then he pointed to another folder. This depicted a girl with long black hair and blue eyes.

"And who is she?" he asked intrigued.

" Saten Ruiko, a new recruit. Young and inexperienced, but very combative" Konori replied, handing the folder at the Level 0.

The teenager read a few pages.

"She deals with auxiliary traffic," he said impassively.

The commissar chuckled, apparently amused by the boy's expression.

"Last week he sent two men to the hospital, because they tried not to pay a fine," she informed him ironically.

On hearing these words, Touma couldn't help but arching an eyebrow.

" Here is written that she's a Level 0 ..."

" She used a mace"

" Ah"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Anyone who knew Ruiko Saten would have asserted, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was one of Academy City's most altruistic people.

In part, this was due to the great passion she had for manga and comics.

Reading comics like Batman, in fact, had certainly not inspired her to become a billionaire.

For her, the morality of each story had always been to help others. And she wanted a job that somehow reflected it. So, when the city needed fresh forces for the anti-crime organization known as Judgment, she was among the first recruits to volunteer.

Being a policeman means being around every night, serving and protecting Gakuen Toshi, but it didn't bother her.

Of course, at times she would have preferred that they entrust her with a most important position, instead of the usual raids reserved for auxiliary officers, whose main task was to enforce the laws of the road.

When she felt bored, the girl used to use a private radio channel to discuss the many urban legends that raged in the city, of which she was a great supporter.

"Important day! Almost topically, "she said cheerfully, bringing the walkie talkie she used as a transceiver to her lips. "There will be a full moon, which a little 'excites, am I right? Let's see what's in the goodies of the month: oh oh, the bath mats! And another thing: there is a serial rapist at Tokhasa Street, and ..."

"Officer Saten, you're using the wrong Walkie Talkie…again" an abrupt, masculine voice said, interrupting the Level 0's digressions.

Ruiko stared at the radio ... and realized that, in fact, it was the one reserved for Judgment officers.

"Oh" she muttered, visibly embarrassed. "Er, sorry, I got confused with the other. Ignore what I said. I mean, don't ignore it! If you live in Tokhasa Street, keep your eyes open"

And, with that said, she quickly closed the device, putting it back in his pocket.

She sighed. In situations like this she just wanted to have the ability to rewind time. Although, in reality, any kind of skill would have been more than welcomed. Such was the desire of every single Level 0 of Academy City.

Since she was too lost in those melancholy thoughts, the girl didn't notice a certain young officer who stopped just a few steps from her.

"Excuse me, I can talk to you for a moment" Kamijou Touma said, receiving the attention of Saten.

The brunette stared at him suspiciously, bringing a hand close to the teaser to prevent any potentially unpleasant situation.

" Sir, if you have a complaint to make, I'm sure that the motorization office ..."

" Actually ..." the Level 0 interrupted, with a disarming smile. " I would like to offer you a promotion".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 _" Look" Konori ordered, holding a piece of paper in Touma's hands._

 _The teenager raised an eyebrow._

 _" What is it?"_

 _"Look" the commissioner repeated, indicating the sheet._

 _The young officer did as he was told, taking a long look at what looked like a poster._

 _It depicted a boy with short black hair wrapped in a bandana. He wore a white cloak and was aiming directly at Touma with a winning smile. Just below, the writing stood out: Do you need help? Call now a Level 5!_

 _"Oh, no,"the Level 0 muttered._

 _"Why not?" Konori asked, crossing both arms in front of her chest._

 _The young officer rolled his eyes._

 _"You can't choose someone just because there is a portrait of him on the cover of a poster, it doesn't work like that" he replied with impassive tone._

 _The commissar gave a discontented sigh._

 _" Listen, we are going to war against some of the city's most powerful espers, and this guy is one of the few who could stand up to people like Kakine Teitoku and Accelerator, "she said in a determined voice. "Sooner or later the shootings will start, and I want Sogiita Gunha with you when it happens"._

 _Touma gave her a look of conviction._

 _In the end, he decided to consent to that unusual request._

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

The development of industrial capitalism, contrary to an overly widespread natural vision, doesn't provoke the strengthening of the city, but rather its almost complete disappearance, as a relatively autonomous institutional and social system, organized around specific objectives.

In fact, the constitution of merchandise as a basic mechanism of the economic system, the technical and social division of labor, the diversification of economic and social interests on a larger space, the homogenization of the industrial system cause the birth of the coincidence of a form spatial, the city, with the sphere of social domination of two well-defined classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.

And if the first class could easily be summarized as the concentrate of all those individuals with a rather comfortable life, the situation that raged in the other was much more dramatic.

In the big cities, nobody noticed the specificity of dying. Dying was like a component of the air. It was everywhere and nowhere. And Academy City knew it well, since the members of the proletarian class, typically limited to Level 0 of the urban periphery, were left to themselves and completely ignored by the city council.

That is why, precisely the outskirts of the City Academy had become fertile ground for the criminals of the town, whose actions were reflected on the decadent and disreputable appearance of those forgotten streets.

Touma looked around, being careful not to let any blind spot appear. The chances of being robbed, once you set foot in certain places, were very high.

As if to testify this, a boy with dirty clothes and lightly torn jeans began to approach the Level 0 with a casual pace, holding a knife hidden in his hands.

Once in front of the young officer, he raised the blade to Touma in a threatening manner.

" Wallet. Come on, quick!" the robber shouted, pointing the weapon in the direction of the teenager.

He raised both hands in surrender.

" Calm"

" Now!"

" Don't shake yourself" he continued.

Gritting his teeth at the lack of fear of his victim, the criminal threw himself forward ... and was promptly thrown at the nearest wall by the intervention of a distinct figure.

As the criminal's body slumped on the sidewalk, Kamijou had a chance to take a quick look at the newcomer, whose right hand was stretched in midair, like a fist, slightly steaming.

"A Judgment agent who wanders through these infamous streets without an escort ... you must have a lot of guts, boy," the stranger said, turning to face Touma.

The Level 0 arched an eyebrow.

" Sogiita Gunha, the sixth Level 5?"

" In person" the other answered, raising a thumb in the air and offering the young officer a winning smile.

Touma couldn't help but compare him to a shounen character. And not just because he was dressed like one.

The powerfull esper turned to the unconscious body of the robber and began to feel his pants and jacket.

After almost half a minute, he took a plastic bag from his jeans pocket, containing a white and lively substance.

"Damn heroin. The neighborhood is eaten to the core by it, " the Level 5 muttered, before turning his attention to the young officer.

"I lost a friend because of this shit, about a year ago. And I'm the only one who enforces the law, in these parts"

" And would you like go up to the stream? Up to the source" Touma offered, receiving an arched eyebrow by Gunha.

Realizing that he had gotten his attention, the Level 0 handed a leather-bound booklet to the skin and he began to read it carefully.

" Enough with small fish" the officer resumed. " We'll stop them directly at the source".

The teenager known as Attack Crash, the sixth Level 5, stood still for what seemed like an interminable time.

Then, he curled both his lips in an excited smile.

" I will need a lot of guts".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 _"We need someone with brain to balance the muscles" Konori observed, bringing a hand to her chin in deep contemplation._

 _Touma looked briefly out of the office window, before smiling._

 _"I think I have just the right person..."_

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Uiharu Kazari, Level 1, had always been more skilled in computer research than in hand-to-hand combat, which is why she always remained at the main Judgment office to give instructions and informations to the various officers around the city, proving to be very useful on several occasions , if not essential.

Usually shy and humble, she actually had a very strong and combative personality, completely devoted to justice. She despised anyone who tried to dominate the weaker people, and she was an avid supporter of the law.

Currently, Kazari sat quietly at her desk, taking advantage of the lunch break to drink a good tea.

"Uiharu!" a sudden voice exclaimed, making her jump.

The girl whirled around, finding herself in front of the smiling figure of none other than Kamijou Touma, the most famous and enterprising officer in the Judgment section in which she worked.

"Kamijou-san, do NOT scare me like this!" Kazari retorted, turning to the Level 0 a sulky expression.

The teenager scratched his head, apparently embarrassed.

"Eh eh, I'm sorry," he offered apologetically.

The Level 1 just sighed, before turning a calm and professional expression to the colleague.

"Do you need something or did you come here just to make fun of me?" she asked with a discomforting background.

The boy's next words took her decisively on the break.

"Do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

"..."

" ..."

"... Eh?!"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

"Put also Aogami," Touma interjected, receiving an incredulous frown from Konori.

"That pervert of your partner?" she asked.

The Level 0 shrugged.

" We have something to buy his undeniable loyalty"

"Working closely with a group of girls ... the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" the Commissioner muttered grimly.

After this, she handed a final file into the hands of Kamijou.

" I would like to offer one last option" she said in a decidedly more sparkling tone.

The young officer spent the next couple of minutes checking the file.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainly, after having finished analyzing the contents of the folder.

In response, Konori only smiled.

"He has a lot of potential," she said firmly.

Touma let out an undemanding grunt.

"I will trust your judgment. Hey, can I be the bad cop this time?"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Misaka Mikoto had never been so nervous. Not since she passed all the tests necessary to be confirmed as a Level 5, at least.

Just a few minutes earlier, in fact, she was summoned by the head of the Judgment Investigation Section, Konori Mii.

She had often heard of her from Kuroko and managed to create a mental picture of the kind of person she was: someone cold and professional who didn't tolerate insubordination.

Maybe it was not a good idea to fight all those criminals during his first week of work.

Trying to keep a cool look, she entered the commissioner's office.

Konori sat comfortably at her desk, flanked by a boy she had never seen before.

He was tall, certainly more than her, with black and bristly hair. For some reason, however, it seemed vaguely familiar to her. Perhaps he was a prominent member of the Judgment, which is probably why he was in the room.

"Ah, Misaka-san, we were waiting for you" the other girl greeted her, before pointing to the only other chair in the office. "Please, take a seat".

Mikoto did as she was told and sat down nervously.

Noticing her agitation, Konori found herself grinning.

" Congratulations, you arrived in the special investigation unit after only a few days of work"

"I wonder how you will be excited," Touma added, receiving a disapproving look from the inspector.

Mikoto looked between the, uncertainly, but decided to remain silent.

Meanwhile, Konori opened a file on the desk surface and began to read it.

" Misaka Mikoto ... Level 5, electromaster, and among the best students of Tokiwadai Academy. Daughter of an ex-policeman, and Misaka Misuzu, a researcher. In the last week you have been found responsible for at least three unauthorized arrests, am I right? "she asked with a cold, calculating expression, as if she was disgusted by what she just said.

The brunette swallowed.

"Yes, ma'am," she answered softly.

The commissioner nodded satisfied and closed the file.

Then, she began to scrutinize Mikoto from head to toe.

"So ... Do you know what we're doing here, in my section?" she asked in a tone full of expectations.

The Level 5 stirred uncomfortably in the chair.

" I have an idea, ma'am ..."

" Wait, wait, let's say you have no idea and we change the subject, ok?" Touma said, interrupting the girl before she could go any further. " No idea. Zero. Anything. If you had an idea of what we are doing here, we wouldn't know how to do our job. We would be idiots. Are you saying that we are idiots?"

Mikoto, visibly surprised by such a statement, blushed slightly and quickly shook her head.

Meanwhile, Konori released a sigh.

"The official Touma has a style of his own. I'm afraid you'll have to get used to it, "she offered apologetically, as the subordinate shrugged.

" Tell me, what is your job, within the Judgment?" the young woman resumed, attracting the attention of the electromaster.

"For now I deal only with minor cases," she replied.

"You should never underestimate a case," Konori said, as if she was giving her a lesson of great value.

Mikoto shrugged.

"I know, but, in the long run, it becomes boring"

"Ah, life is made up of little things. It's full of little lies, little mistakes. In both an insignificant case and a homicide, people commit the same false steps. It's human nature, " Konori continued, with a background of resignation.

Then, Touma leaned forward, staring intently at the Level 5.

" Why do you pretend to be a policewoman?" he suddenly asked, surprising once again the electromaster.

" Sorry, what?" she asked, her face frowned.

"You want to be a policewoman ... or do you just want to look like a policewoman? It's a sincere question" Konori added. " Many people enter the Judgment just because they want to have the appearance of the policeman, with the badge and all the rest, as if they were on TV"

"And so many want to beat the heads of an esper against the windows," Touma said, implacable.

At hearing these words, Mikoto couldn't help but dilate her pupils.

" Wait a moment, I ..."

" Touma is right" the commissioner interrupted. "To pretend here is our job, so we'll not let you tell stories. In five years you can be anything in the world, but you'll never be a policewoman".

Time seemed to stop. An inexorable silence seemed to descend into the depths of the office, like a ghostly hand coming from the celestial vault to wrap the world in a dark shadow.

"... Are you sure, ma'am?" the Level 5 whispered, whose face had assumed an impassive expression.

Konori nodded in response.

" More than sure"

"At 2000%," Touma continued, with an amused grin. "You took 1400 on the admission test. You are an astronaut, not a policewoman"

"Shut up!" The girl suddenly exclaimed, jumping up and throwing the chair in the process.

This is, she thought internally. I'm about to kill my career. But she would certainly not remained calm in front of such an accusation.

"Do you think you can tell me what I can or can not be? To have the right to judge me just because I'm a high-level esper? Do you think I didn't struggle to get where I am now? That I'm just an arrogant little girl who wants to get noticed ?!" she exclaimed with a growl, while sparks and light electric shocks began to spread from her body. " Wll, fuck you !"  
And, after this, a powerful electrostatic wave hit the whole room, causing every single light bulb into the office to burst.

Mikoto took a couple of soothing breaths and raised her head, invaded by a feeling of panic.

However, instead of being in front of angry expressions, she noticed with great amazement that the couple of officers was stared at her with an amused smile.

" I liker her," Touma commented, receiving a nod from Konori.

"Yeah, me too" was the commissioner's reply.

The Level 5 began to scrutinize them in disbelief.

At the same time, Kamijou went through the desk and stopped right in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

" So, Biri-biri, a few clear rules: you will have to be my connection with the rest of the world. People will judge me through you ... You will be hard if you have the reason, you will be accommodating when you can be, you will be precise, punctual and you will not make promises that you can't keep" he said calmly and reassuringly, while Mikoto tried to understand what the hell was happening.

"We must be a team, and as such we must have a uniform: simple, elegant, impeccable. As they say in America "Dress up badly and they will notice the dress, dress impeccably and they will notice the woman"" he finished, holding out his right hand forward.

The Level 5 lowered her head and stared at the stretched arm.

When she raised it, she noticed that the young officer was looking at her with a kind and easygoing expression.

"Welcome to the team, girl".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

.

.

.

All reviews are VERY welcomed !


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes : Here's a new chapter !**

 **As always, I'm Italian, so I apologize for all the grammatical errors you will find ( I'm still searching for a beta reader ).**

 **I don not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Normal people want the police to solve their problems, but they never think about the daily risks that every policeman runs. Moreover, despite its members don't receive very high salaries, Kuroko had always thought that the overwhelming majority of the police was honest. Just like her mother.

She died on duty, during a shootout, to save a child finished in a crossfire in the city of Kyoto.

Kuroko was only eight years old when the tragedy occurred ... but she remembered it well enough to want to honor the woman's memory in the only way she thought possible: following her footsteps and become a defender of justice.

When she arrived at Gakuen Toshi and was cataloged as a Level 4, armed with perseverance and fighting spirit, she immediately decided to join the city's anti-crime section, the Judgment.

Having moved to the school for the esper powers development school Tokiwadai, she ended up meeting the person that would become not only her best friend but a reference model to aspire to: Misaka Mikoto, the third Level 5 of Gakuen Toushi.

Even the girl's father was a policeman and, as her mother, died to protect someone during a criminal activity.

She immediately felt a sort of connection with that humble and eccentric esper, despite the extent of the power she possessed. Mikoto, infact, was a mostly quiet girl, but her temperament was, at least…explosive.

And precisely because of this, it was very difficult for her to enter the Judgment. But the electromaster had never given up, and she always managed to get up. And after two years of failed attempts, she finally managed to fulfill her ambition to enter the security forces.

The Judgment, in fact, was a good launching point to pursue the law agent's career, once the degree was completed. Especially in a city like Gakuen Toshi, where crime was raging as far as the eyes could see.

When that thought crossed her mind, Kuroko felt a wave of disgust making its way into her heart.

Academy City, the place where young people came from all over the world to realize their dreams ... had become the stronghold of the delinquent and the illicit.

But things were about to change, and she knew it. Finally, the Judgment would have embarked on a campaign without exclusion of blows against Gakuen's organized crime.

Once she arrived in the administrative building where the first meeting would take place, the teleporter proceeded to follow the directions given to her by the statement she received the night before.

When she arrived at the conference room, she entered and immediately gave a quick overview of those present. For now, there were only two people, both sitting at their respective desks.

There was Uiharu, an old friend of her and a trusted colleague, who wasted no time in greeting her as soon as she stepped into the room. The esper returned the greeting, while a blue-haired teenage boy looked at her curiously.

"Another pretty girl came to our door? It must be my lucky day" he commented, arousing a look of pure contempt by Kuroko.

"Fantastic," she thought angrily. "At best a womanizer ... at worst, probably a pervert".

"Kuroko?" a familiar voice asked, turning her around.

For a moment, the teleporter believed she would faint on the spot.

"O-onee-sama!" she exclaimed incredulously, taking a quick glance at who was, indeed, none other than Misaka Mikoto herself. " What the hell are you doing here ?!"

The student scratched her cheek side, apparently embarrassed.

" Er ... apparently I'm part of this operation"

" What ?!" Kuroko replied, making the electromaster start. "But ... but ... you've been a judgement officer just for a week"

"But don't forget that she is also a Level 5" a second voice stated.

The couple of girls looked at the person who just spoken. He was a teenager, probably no older than 18, with thick black hair gathered in a bandana bearing the symbol of the rising sun.

" Sogiita Guhna, a pleasure" the boy offered with a quick wave of his hand, receiving visibly surprised expressions by the students.

"The seventh Level 5?" Mikoto asked, with a slight inclination of the head.

Guhna threw a winning smile to the brunette.

" In person! I am pleased to see that a Level 5 colleague decided to use her guts and join me in the fight against the dark forces that threaten the city"

" Guts?" the electromaster asked.

"Dark forces?" Kuroko followed, before shaking her head. "Actually, I don't want to know. Rather, I didn't know that Judgment had another Level 5"

"Oh, I'm not part of the Judgment" the teenager revealed, much to the dismay of the teleporter.

" Eh? So why the hell are you here?"

"Because this operation will be very different from the others" third voice came, from the entrance of the hall.

Kamijou Touma, flanked by the figure of Konori Mii, had just entered.

The teenager pulled a remote control out of his trouser pocket and used it to turn on a projector in the center of the ceiling.

On the black chalkboard that served as the front wall of the conference room, a series of photos depicting places and people began to materialize.

The Level 0 turned to the recruits.

"Now, we just have to wait ... "

"Sorry, I'm late!" someone exclaimed, drawing the attention of those present towards the entrance to the hall.

She was a young girl with long black hair and blue eyes, dressed in the uniform typical of auxiliaries patrolling the streets for Judgment.

"I was leaving home early, but during the bus trip I witnessed a car accident, I went down to help, but the ambulance couldn't find the place, and ..."

"Saten ... relax," Konori Mii interrupted, silencing the young officer.

The girl gave her an embarrassed smile and proceeded to the only desk still free, the one next to Uiharu. The young girl sent a brief greeting to Saten, which the brunette returned with a smile.

Meanwhile, Touma passed his head from side to side of the room and nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, now that we're all here…we can start. First of all, I welcome you to the new Special Judgment Section. I am Kamijou Touma, and from now on I will be your superior" he said in a calm voice.

"This is a new department and you are its most recent members. You've been selected on the basis of intelligence and attitude. This is an elite unit. Our task is to destroy or marginally disturb ..." continued with a slightly ironic tone, " the organized crime of this city, intensifying the collaboration with the Judgment, represented here by Commissioner Konori Mii. And that's what we will do. As for organized crime in this city, you know who I'm talking about"

And, with that said, he indicated the various photos attached to the board.

"Here are our targets: Kakine Teitoku, the second Level 5. It holds control of the city's major centers of prostitution, as well as a large part of drug trafficking. Komaba Ritoku, leader of Skill Out, the largest organization of Gakuen Toshi. Mugino Shizuri, leader of ITEM. She is relatively new in the loop, but in a short time she has managed to grab a territory of considerable size"

He paused to catch his breath.

"But of course the true star you know well who he is" he said pointing to a very distinct face. A boy with thick white hair and alabaster skin, as white as the newly fallen snow.

"This is Accelerator, in an old photograph. Among all the leaders of the underworld, he is the one who owns the largest territory. Throttling, gambling, arms sales, clandestine fights ... all in his hands. And our sources say that he intends to expand" he revealed in a resigned tone, arousing visibly troubled expressions by the people gathered.

In fact, the territorial expansion of a head of the underworld could mean only one thing: a gang war. And when this happened, the civilians and the innocents always ended up in the crossfire.

"Accelerator uses three key people," the Level 0 continued. "This is Musujime Awaki, his personal hit. A girl who seems to have come straight out from the movie "A peaceful man""

He pointed to another picture.

"Unabara Mitsuki, his lawyer and accountant. And Tsuchimikado Motoharu, his number one. You have an illustrative booklet, read it and tell me your ideas, so I can pass them off for mine" he continued, receiving small laugh from the recruits.

Then, the teenager released a sighed sigh.

"Now, I want to be clear with all of you: Academy City is not a nice place" He said in a suddenly cold voice, attracting the attention of the group. "This city smells like a cheap casino. The first thing is "who can you trust"?"

Saten raised her hand to answer.

"Well ..."

" None. No policeman. Because nobody wants you" Touma interrupted her, surprising not only the girl, but almost every single recruit, with the exception of Guhna. The Level 5 remained unaffected by that abrupt revelation, almost as if he knew it in first person.

"None? So why did you call us here?" Kuroko asked, slightly frowning. After all, she was a strong supporter of public institutions to protect citizens. To heard that this person, one of her superiors, had no faith in his own colleagues ... well, it troubled her greatly.

"Because I swore to enforce the law" Touma answered, crossing both arms in front of his chest. "And also for another reason that I will tell you ... So, who can you trust?"

" None?" Mikoto offered, in an uncertain tone.

The Level 0 nodded.

" It's the bitter truth, biri-biri" he said dryly, causing a slight flush of embarrassment by the girl. That nickname didn't suit her.

"If you don't trust anyone, what made you choose us?" Asked Uiharu, visibly curious.

In response, the teenager only smiled.

"Well, when you're afraid of running into a rotten apple you don't have to take it out of the basket ... take it from the tree, "he said smugly.

The blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow and held up his right hand.

" Er ... we are from the tree?" he asked confused, receiving incredulous expressions from the recruits.

Touma sighed a second time and said: " Yes, Aogmai, you are from the tree".

After hearing this, the Level 0 nodded to himself, as if he was proud of what he considered a brilliant insight.

Kamijou rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.

" Now, here's how we'll move" he enunciated with renewed vigor.

" Pierce, Guhna, Ruiko, Shirai-san ... we will be the assault unit of this operation. We will attack the centers of production of organized crime, casinos, any coverage they use to cover their activities ... and we will not give them respite, we will hammer them to exhaustion. Uiharu ... " he said pointing to the girl," You will be our eyes and our ears. You will provide us with remote buck-ups, and direct operations remotely "

"I'll give my best," the girl answered with determination.

Meanwhile, Mikoto looked around uncertainly.

" Why didn't you name me?" she asked hesitantly, attracting Touma's gaze.

However, it was Konori Mii who answered her.

"You will not be part of the assault unit" the young woman revealed, causing an enlargement of the eyes by the electromaster.

" But then ... "

" You will infiltrate the Accelerator band ... and be an informer," Touma continued, impassively.

Time seemed to stop. An inexorable silence seemed to descend into the depths of the room.

Every single recruit turned to Mikoto with surprised expressions. The same Level 5 looked like a deer that was just captured by the headlights.

Meanwhile, Kuroko jumped up from her seat.

"What?! You can't be serious!" she exclaimed incredulously.

Touma stared at her impassively.

" We are serious as a heart attack"

"But ... but ...she has no experience! She was in the Judgment only for a few days" the teleporter continued, receiving in return a nod from Konori.

" That's why it's the only recruit we can trust, and the only one who could get out if things get bad"

"We have never had a Level 5 in the Judgment ..." Touma resumed, "and this situation may never happen again"

"But ..."

" Kuroko!" Mikoto interrupted her, in a firm voice.

The Level 4 turned to her friend with a hurt expression.

" Onee-sama ..."

However, just before she could finish the sentence, the electromaster raised her right hand, making a sign to stop.

Reluctantly, Kuroko sit down once again, while the Level 5 glanced at Touma and Konori.

"What should I do?" she asked with determination.

The Commissioner took a deep breath.

"There are funds for this operation. You will not be paid as a regular policewoman, but there is a bonus"

"We can't hide the fact that you attended the course ..." Touma resumed, " that's why you'll be accused of a crime"

"We think that, if you plead guilty of aggression, it could be credible, considering your ... past experiences" Konori offered.

Mikoto blushed slightly, remembering all the times when she was called up for a fight.

"You'll stay inside enough to convince anyone that is not a cover," Kamijou added. " Then you will have probation and the judge will send you to a psychiatrist, the whole process. If you want to serve the city, this is your chance, biri-biri. But I warn you ... it will not be easy"

And, with that said, the Level 0 stared intensely at the electromaster, with a look filled with expectation.

Mikoto, meanwhile, was busy considering everything that was just ordered her to do.

In the end, after what seemed like an interminable time, she released a sigh of resignation mixed with relief.

" I didn't sign up for this job because it was easy".

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Where do we find the idea of the Fall in contemporary culture? An answer could be found in the image of drugs - or drug culture - and in the moral panic that surrounds them.

The "fall from grace that is drugs" is often represented in a way not unlike the descent in the color described by Blanc. Sensual, intoxicating, unstable, not permanent; loss of control, loss of the center of personal unity, loss of self.

It 's now known that there is a fairly interesting relationship between drugs and color, and it is not a recent invention. It too, rather, dates back to antiquity, to Aristotle, who called color a drug - pharmakon - and, before that, to the iconoclastic Plato, for whom a painter was simply the one who used "many colors mixed together".

After two and a half millennia, things don't seem to have changed much. In the 1960s, for example, drugs were commonly associated, and sometimes comically, not to the distortion of forms as to the intensification of color.

At the base of the intake of drugs, of all drugs, even of tobacco and alcohol, it was necessary to consider whether the life of a person offered a sufficient margin of sense to justify all the effort that was made to live.

If this sense was not there, if there was not even the prospect of being able to find it, if the days followed each other only to distribute senselessness and massive doses of insignificance, then it was usual to look for some anesthetic capable of becoming insensitive to life.

And in a city where people known as Level 0 were treated as if they were the waste of society ... well, drugs used to be very popular.

This Hamazura Shiage knew it well, which was why he had never regretted using them. In Gakuen Toshi, after all, buying stuff like weed and cocaine was like going to the market near the house to buy a chocolate bar. It was just more expensive.

Currently, the teenager was in one of the many pedestrian areas around the city. He bought a hot dog from a tall, heavy seller who stood at the edge of the little square and began to scan his surroundings. In the end, he found what he was looking for: an unkempt, apparently harmless teen, who stood like a pole at the entrance to a side alley to the square.

The Level 0 made a quick overview of the pedestrian zone and walked to the aforementioned person.

" Hi!" greeted Hamazura, calling the attention of the boy. " Look ... do you have any drug?"

" I don't know what you're talking about, friend" the other replied, putting his hands in his pockets with casualness.

The Level 0 released a sigh.

"All right, as you wish. What I meant is that, if you have stuff to sell, I'll buy you a couple of grams."

"For whom did you take me? It's useless, I can see that you're a cop" the boy answered, tightening both eyelids of the eyes.

Internally, Hamazura found himself cursing. Then, he simulated a stunned expression.

"What? Why do you think that?" He asked incredulously.

The drug dealer stared nervously at him.

"Ah, well, for example, um ... that van parked over there. Is it yours?"

The blonde arched an eyebrow.

" Which van?"

"Did you think it would go unnoticed? It's a cop van! Look, there's another one over there! "Duke City Flowers" ?! Unbelievable! Couldn't you be more original?" He said pointing to what, actually, was a van on the right side of the roadway.

Hamazura peered at him impassively.

" You're out of the way. I just want to get high"

"The florist's van! Ah ... Do you know what you should try? The waste truck. Seriously, I'm not kidding. It's a suggestion. If you pick up the cops on a lorry, no one will ever think that instead of the garbage collectors there is a team of cops! If I were you I would think about it"

"Ok, I'm leaving," the blond muttered, turning around.

The drug dealer stared at him in surprise.

"Do you cops just give up like that?"

"I'm not a cop!" Hamazura exclaimed, raising both hands to the sky.

Faced with that scene, the teenager who was facing him began to reevaluate his options. Perhaps he was telling the truth.

"Raise your shirt, show me that you don't have microphones!" He ordered abruptly, giving rise to a sigh resigned from the blond.

"It's okay. But if I do it, it's just to prove you're wrong!"

And, having said that, he raised both the sweatshirt and the shirt.

Almost like a signal, the drug dealer put his hands in front of his eyes.

"Ah! You're too white! You blind me! Eheheh!"

" Idiot!" Hamazura snarled, now visibly irritated.

He turned again but was promptly stopped by the criminal.

"Hey, come here, I was joking! Come on, you can't leave like this. Sit down, courage. And then I don't understand what you complain about. You don't miss the abs. Am I right?"

" Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. I don't know how much I want to get high, after this"

"Come on, don't be like that. At the end I just asked you to show me that you're not a cop" the other replied.

Hamazura had to give him credit. After all, a person could never be too cautious in this kind of work.

" What else do I have to do to convince you?" He resigned.

The drug dealer seemed to think about it, before shrugging.

"I don't know. Wait…I have an idea. Go to that guy over there and punch him in the face, "he said, pointing to the Hot Dog seller.

The blond stared at him in disbelief.

"Who are you talking about? THAT guy?"

" Yep"

"No, he would kick my ass!" He exclaimed, making the criminal laugh.

"Eheheh! You are right. Aaah ... We need another idea"

No, shit the Level 0 retorted dryly. " I found one! A very simple thing. When you ask a cop if he is a cop, he is obliged to tell the truth. It is written in the constitution."

"In the Japanese constitution?" The drug dealer asked, tilting his head slightly.

Hamazura gave him a winning smile.

" Sure. Come on, ask me this question" he ordered with a firm tone, as he prayed every divinity in heaven and on earth that this idiot believed him.

The teenager passed his head from side to side of the road. He leaned forward and whispered, "Are you a cop?"

"No, no. Not like this" the blond interrupted him. "It must be an official thing"

The drug dealer flushed, apparently embarrassed.

"Okay. Are you a police officer?"

" No, I am not a police officer" Hamazura replied, bringing his left hand to his chest and raising his right hand.

The delinquent nodded satisfied.

"OK. It's 5000 yen"

"Last week it was less

"The price has gone up, my friend. Accelerator's fault" the drug dealer mumbled, spitting the Level 5 name as if it was a curse.

The blonde sighed a third time.

" Ok" he murmured, handing the money to the teenager.

At the same time, he handed him a plastic bag containing some white powder.

"Here, friend. Have fun"

" I'm counting on it" Hamazura greeted, grabbing the drug and proceeding to leave. He didn't want to stay in the company of that boy a second longer.

Just a dozen meters away, however, a shadow began to overwhelm him, forcing him to stop.

The Level 0 spun around, hiding the bag and bringing his right hand to the gun that he kept hidden in the back pocket.

However, as soon as his eyes rested on the figure that flanked him, he stopped himself.

"I see you haven't change much, Hamazura" the calm and deep voice of Komaba Rituku, leader of the criminal organization known as the "Skill Out", said.

Hamazura looked around quickly, noting that the pedestrian area was very busy.

Realizing he was safe, he gave the teenager an ironic smile.

"And you are a vision as always" he replied with teasing tone.

Komaba stood still and impassive, staring intently at the boy. Then, he curled both lips in a smile, which made the young officer lower the guard.

"It's nice to see you again, brother. What brings you here?" the blond asked, starting to walk again.

Komaba followed him closely.

"Nothing in particular, I was just taking a walk" he muttered, before noticing the plastic bag protruding from the pocket of the Hamazura sweatshirt.

"I thought you stopped," he remarked reproachfully.

The blond just shrugged.

" The old habits are hard to die"

"It's a terrible philosophy. That stuff hurts your health"

" Said by you is not a bit 'hypocritical?" the Level 0 asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Komaba stared at him with a hard look.

" I sell it, but I've never used it"

" You are really a saint" Hamazura muttered, with a loud snort.

It was at that moment that he noticed the expression on his old friend's face. He looked ... tired. Almost resigned.

He had never seen him in such a state.

" Something wrong? You look like a man ready to get on the gallows, "he said with a slight concern.

The leader of the Skill Out released a bitter laugh.

"The feeling is, more or less, that " he whispered, receiving an arched eyebrow from the other Level 0.

Then, Komaba took a deep breath.

"Accelerator is on the war path. This city is about to become a battlefield, and the Skill Out will be in the middle of it" he revealed as a fact.

Hamazura stared at him in disbelief.

" Is the situation so bad?"

" Unfortunately, and there is not much I can do to fix it" the criminal replied, in a resigned voice.

The blond looked at him uncertainly, not knowing what to say.

In the end, he opted for a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"You'll be fine. You always do" he said in a comforting tone.

Komaba gave him a smile of gratitude.

" Maybe " he replied, before turning his gaze towards the celestial vault. "The criminals of this city, in the past, believed in things like honor ... respect. Now they seem only rabid dogs looking for the next carcass to be shed".

Hamazura scratched his head.

"You could try to bargain with him. It's a Level 5, but I don't think that ..."

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted behind him, prompting the pair of Level 0 to turn around.

It was a child, probably around 10 years old, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. In his hands he brought what looked like a cardboard box.

He seemed visibly intimidated by the size of Komaba.

"A guy told me to give you this" he nervously offered, holding the object in the hands of the criminal.

Komaba looked at the package with curiosity, noticing a white plate attached to the lid.

Above it was written in large letters: "From Accelerator".

"?!"

Time seemed to stop.

Komaba heard a distinct ticking from the box and threw it upward.

At the same time, he turned to Hamazura and shouted: "GET DOWN!"

As soon as the body of the Level 0 came in contact with that of the blond, to protect him ... the bomb exploded.

The fireball rose high in the sky, while the shock wave turned out to wipe away most of the windows in the area, starting the car alarms.

People began to scream and run away in every direction, while the cloud of smoke and dust dissolved in the air.

Hamazura opened his eyes slightly and began to cough. He looked around. In the square there seemed to be no living soul. There was only a sharp whistle that constantly hammered at the eardrum without ever hinting to stop.

He put his hands on his ears and the sound ceased, and then began again as soon as he took them off his head.

He was confused. Confused and scared. He saw the bomb explode, yet it was still alive. Then he remembered: someone saved him!

He turned to where the explosion occurred ... and stopped.

Komaba was slumped on the ground not far from him, without an arm and a leg. Next to him, lay the child's body.

The boy got up in a hurry and started to move towards the person he considered almost like a mentor. However, just before he could even take a step, he fainted suddenly.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yeah, no Accel in this chapter...but the next one is all about him!**

 **All reviews are welcomed...please, I need them !**

 **Accelerator : Tch...pathetic.**

 **Shut up, they motive me to write YOUR story !**

 **Accelerator : Sigh...please, review this idiot.**

 **I love you too, Accel !  
**

 **Accelerator : Shut up and die...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes : Here's a new chapter !**

 **As always, I'm Italian, so I apologize for all the grammatical errors you will find ( I'm still searching for a beta reader ).**

 **I'll take advantage of this chapter to thank all the reviewers for your support!**

 **Both my characters and I are very grateful to you, aren't we, guys?**

 **Accelerator: Eh, whatever ...**

 **Mugino: I don't give a fuck ...**

 **Teitoku: Someone bring me a sandwich!**

 **Misaki: * Writes on her mobile phone, indifferent ***

 **Touma and Mikoto: ... * sigh resigned ***

 **... I remind you that they are behind the continuation of your existence.**

 **Accelerator: ... tsk ... thank you * bothered annoyed ***

 **Shizuri: Yes, what he said.**

 **Teitoku: Yeah, yeah, thank you ... but I still want my sandwich!**

 **Accelerator: Do it yourself, second rate!**

 **Teitoku: Do you want to fight, snowflake?!**

 **Misaki: * sighs * ignore them, even I am very grateful ;)**

 **Mikoto: Me too!**

 **Touma: Also because this version of mine is really badass ...**

 *** Mikoto gives him a chop***

 **Touma: What the hell was that?!**

 **Mikoto: You could be a badass…but you'll always remain an idiot!**

 *** The others nods ***

 **Touma: ... Fukou-da!**

 **... Well, I think it's better go back to the story.**

 **I don not own To Aru Majutsu No Index and To Aru Kagaku No Railgun, all rights belong to Kazuma Kamachi.**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Chapter 7 :

Today the Japanese government can listen to everything you say: they know who you are with, they know who you're talking to and believe me, they also know who you're having sex with.

Turn on a cell phone or computer and you're screwed.

But in states like Colombia and Mexico it was not so easy. In most Latin American countries, the use of the Internet and mobile phones was limited to the rich. At best there were satellite phones: to be able to locate one you had to fly over it. But even this type of equipment was often reserved for wealthy breakers, landowners, and politicians.

Unabara Mitsuki, Accelerator's personal lawyer, knew that well ... because he grew up in these countries.

His real name was Eztali Xochitl, and they came from Costa Rica.

Arriving at Gakuen Toshi, after emigrating to Japan as a clandestine of a ship loaded with bonsai, at the age of ten he had soon fallen under the wing of an emerging Accelerator.

At the age of twelve he had undergone plastic surgery, through which he took on the identity of Unabara Mitsuki, a Level 3 student who was killed in a car accident.

After another 4 years he was able to prove his intellect, passing with honors the training course for young lawyers organized by the city.

And because of his knowledge, he was personally commissioned by Accelerator to find those blind spots in Academy City where the propagation of radio waves caused by the numerous transceivers scattered around the city caused interferences strong enough to make any tracking or recording tool…incapable.

Like the warehouse he was in now, who was just kidnapped by a young couple who tried to make him pay more than what was agreed by the initial sales contract.

" A discount seemed obligatory, since in this warehouse methamphetamine was produced" the adolescent began, turning his attention towards the duo.

"They produced it in the cellar lab. I read the sell contract, signed by you, and it doesn't say anything about the laboratory in question, no no ... I see that there is the anti-worm inspection, very good, but it doesn't mention the laboratory" he continued, giving a quick glance to the contract he held in his hand. In front of him, the couple swallowed, visibly nervous.

" Some people may accuse you of fraud, by omission, which can be prosecuted criminally: I personally would never dream of it ... but it's a big problem. Congratulations, you had courage trying to trimming the first passing a property seriously contaminated by methamphetamine" he said coldly, tightening both his eyelids. " Great shot for you, good. So, I could file a complaint and have you confiscated the house indefinitely…or I could make a criminal complaint, but we don't want to get to this point: am I right?"

In response, both the man and the woman quickly nodded.

" Excellent!" Unabara exclaimed, recovering his usual smile.

While the couple proceeded to sign the necessary papers to complete the payment of the property, the young lawyer's telephone began to ring.

He didn't waste any time and took the object to his ear.

"Hello " he said gently.

After almost a minute of one-way conversation, however, his expression became very alarmed.

"What?" He whispered through his teeth. " Damn it ... yes, I'll call him now"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Accelerator arrived at the ITEM headquarters aboard a gray-metallic Jaguar, flanked by the constant presence of Tsuchimikado.

The couple got out of the car with a plush step, finding themselves in front of an imposing construction made of white marble that shone under the sunlight, and which acted not only as the headquarters of the organization but also as a home of Mugnio Shizuri, the fourth Level 5.

The Meltdowner certainly had a very whimsical taste, on this there were few doubts. Not that it bothered the Number One, he considered himself a man capable of living with the essential, of course, but still no stranger to enjoying the pleasures of money.

The skeptic, however, was his right arm, who set his sunglasses on his face and looked at the mansion with a critical look.

" Tell me again why you decided to involve her, Accelerator"

" Because she's powerful, and can be very useful for our home"

" She is a spoiled girl" the other replied, with a tone full of contempt. " She's not like us"

" Ever heard the term "Don't judge a book by its cover"?" the Level 5 asked, with a mocking grin. "I already told you, I have big plans for this city ... and she will help me to make them happen. We'll all benefit from this cooperation"

" And for "all", of course, you mean ... only you, Casanova"

In response, the albino gave him an annoyed look.

"Don't be smart with me, Tsu, it doesn't suit you" He muttered angrily, causing a small laugh by the blond.

With a resigned sigh, Accelerator rang the bell next to the huge door that preceded the villa ... and waited.

After half a minute, the massive wooden doors opened wide, revealing the interior of the house.

If possible, they seemed even more elegant than the exterior.

Painted in red, circumnavigated by several black marble columns, the walls embellished with numerous frescoes gave the idea of the sumptuous French houses of the Baroque period. Elegant and refined, the environment perfectly represented the owner of the complex.

The sense of beauty and pride that oozed every corner of the structure was palpable and Accelerator unconsciously found himself smiling.

To welcome him and Tsuchiikado was a pretty blonde and blue-eyed girl, dressed in a pitch-colored French dress, complete with a hat typical of Parisian fashion.

She approached the duo and gave them a quick bow.

" Good morning, welcome guests. I'm Frenda Seivelun, Mugino Shizuri's assistant. In the end, you must be the ones we were waiting for, "she said coquettishly, then turned to Accelerator.

After scrutinizing him from head to toe, she said: "You must be the Number One! I don't know why, but I imagined you…taller"

" Tsk ... are you saying I'm short?" the albino growled, tightening both eyelids.

Realizing what she just said to the Gakuen Toshi's most infamous underworld boss, the blonde turned pale and took a step backwards.

" Don't mind this brute!" Tsuchimikado intervened, getting in the middle of them.

He gave the girl a charming smile.

" I am Tsuchimikado Motoharu, the right arm as well as the best ... or rather, only friend of that grumpy there" he said pointing to the figure of the albino.

" Forgive his rudeness, dear Seivelun" he ended, grappling in a quick kiss-hand and making the blonde blush.

"N-no problem, I was out of line," the girl stammered, glancing nervously at Accelerator.

Then, from above, a distinctly familiar voice came.

"Ohi, Frenda, what the hell is going on here?" Mugino Shizuri asked, appearing at the top of the stairs that preceded the entrance to the villa.

He wore a yellow coat with a skirt, a red-checked fular and a pair of summer shoes with heels.

"Ah, Mugino, you're here!" Frenda exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the albino. " As you can see, your boyfriend has arrived"

" Frendaaaaa!" the other snarled, tightening both her eyelids.

The blonde squeaked with fear and proceeded to move away quickly, under the amused look of Accelerator and Tsuchimikado.

"Well, it was interesting" the Level 5 commented, while Mugino released a resigned sigh.

"Sorry for Frenda, but sometimes she can't keep her mouth shut," she muttered apologetically.

The teenager waved his right hand with unconcern, not at all troubled by the girl's actions.

Satisfied, Mugino motioned for him to follow her, while Accelerator ordered Tsuchimikado to stay, with evident displeasure of the Level 0.

The young woman led him to what seemed like an office, gorgeous and professional looking.

The walls were filled with bound books and documents, while at the center stood a solid wood desk, exquisitely carved with floral motifs. On it stood a glass bottle filled with Burbon, flanked by a pair of glasses.

The Level 5 invited the albino to sit down while she took a seat at the work table.

"I wanted to introduce you to Takitsubo and Kinhuata, but they're currently out on errands for me," the brunette said, crossing both hands in front of her.

Accelerator merely shrugged.

"No problem, I will certainly learn to know them as we work together. What do they do?"

"Takitsubo deals with espionage. Her esper ability is called AIM Stalker, and allows her to identify the AIM field of any esper. In short, she is a human detector for espers"

"Interesting" the albino commented, recognizing the potential of such a skill. "And the other one?"

" Kinhuata is my bodyguard. She has the ability to alter the concentration of hydrogen around her, which makes her incredibly strong and impenetrable to most firearms. She's a fan of yours, actually, "she revealed with a little smile. " She designed a hydrogen shield taking directly inspiration from your vector barrier"

"Clever girl," the albino commented, with a sneer. "And the blonde?"

" Frenda is my right arm, and she is a Level 0. But she's a genius of mechanics and she is an expert of explosions"

" Never underestimate those small earthquakes" the albino chuckled, thinking back to all the times when Tsuchimikado, also a Level 0, managed to defeat higher level espers.

Then, he turned to the girl with a serious expression.

" You probably know why I'm here. Don't you mind if ...?" he said pointing at the bottle of Burbon.

Mugino waved her hand, giving him tacit consent.

The albino nodded in gratitude and poured part of the amber liquid inside a glass, while the Meltdower resumed the speech.

"Surely you're not here to take me back to bed, Number One. Or maybe yes?" she asked with a sneer of her own.

The Level 5 arched an eyebrow.

"Oh no, absolutely not ...well, unless you want to... "

" Ah ah, it was a one time opportunity" the other teased, waving a finger in front of his face. " I prefer not to enter into intimacy with...work colleagues"

"I imagined it. Anyway, no, I'm here to talk about business. I received an offer that could make me a lot of money, enough to proceed with El Dorado's operations, but I need your help"

"I'm all ears," the girl replied, crossing her legs and slumped back in her chair.

Accelerator took a deep breath.

" It is a simple purchase, a real estate speculation. The point is ... we have to invest money. A lot of money"

The young woman arched an eyebrow.

"I don't invest excessive amounts of money in an activity that I don't have the certainty of succeeding"

"And on this I agree, but believe me, I have a plan. Tell me ... and if I make you an offer so ridiculous that you have to consider it? At that point who knows what would happen" he said with a knowing smile.

" And what do you consider ridiculous?" the other asked, with a mocking tone.

The Level 5 shrugged.

" As you well know, my intent is to take control of betting traffic throughout Japan, which is currently in the hands of the various unions scattered around the cities of the east coast. I've always been convinced that a criminal empire should be run as a company, with various people chosen to control a slice of cake. That's why I want to offer you ... half of it" he ended in impassive tone.

Mugino dilated her pupils and stared at the teenager in disbelief.

Then, after what seemed like an interminable time, she curled her lips in an ecstatic smile.

" Accelerator ... before you had my curiosity. But now you have my attention, "she whispered in a low voice.

The albino chuckled complacently and raised his glass ... but at that moment, the cell phone in his pants pocket began to play.

The Level 5, visibly annoyed by the interruption, grabbed the device and noticed that Unabara, his personal lawyer, was the one who called him.

"Excuse me," he muttered to Mugino, as he carried the phone to his ear.

" Yeah? I hope you have a good reason ... yes ... yes I asked him ... no, because ... .no, I ... HE DID WHAT?!"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Terrorism was usually regarded as a form of action that was not only political but also symbolic.

What do we mean by politics? It sheds blood - literally and figuratively - using the vital fluids of its victims to throw an impressive and atrocious sketch on the canvases of social life.

It aims not only to kill but to to express itself dramatically.

In Austin's terms, terrorism was an illocutive force that aimed to achieve a perlocutory effect.

Terrorism was the new form of war, it was the way to make war of the last sixty years: against the populations, even before that between armies or fighters. The war that could be done with thousands of tons of bombs or with the embargo, with economic strangulation or with suicide bombers on airplanes or buses.

The war that generated war, a terrorism against the other, at the cost of defenseless civilians.

In a city like Gakuen Toshi, crime was the order of the day, and it was something familiar. It was part of the city's daily life, and people had learned to accept it.

But a bomb that exploded in an area full of civilians ... that was quite another thing. It was an act of terror. It was a different, despicable ... alien action. It was a cowardly act, an act that made no distinction between innocent and criminal. And because of this, people were now scared like they've never been in years.

Hamazura could feel it in his bones, as he watched the dark faces and tears of those people who were involved in the explosion.

He tried to settle down on the hospital bed, but his leg still hurt too much. Internally, he found himself cursing.

Then, a young woman dressed as a nurse approached him with a slow pace, his face adorned with a solemn expression.

The Level 0 instantly understood the reason for that face kissed by suffering.

"I'm sorry ... we did everything possible" the woman whispered, bowing her head slightly.

Hamazura gritted his teeth. Komaba Ritoku, the leader of the Skill Out, his mentor, and the closest thing he had to a brother ... was dead.

And the name of his killer would have remained forever engraved in his memory: **Accelerator.**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

In life they teach us that there are seven deadly sins.

We all know the main ones: throat, pride, lust ... But a sin of which we don't talk so much is anger. Perhaps because we think that anger is not dangerous enough and can be controlled. What I want to say is that perhaps we underestimate anger. Perhaps it could become much more dangerous than we think. After all, when it causes destructive reactions ... it becomes the gravest of the seven sins.

Anyone can get angry: this is easy. But getting angry with the right person, and in the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way: this is not in anyone's chance and it's not easy.

Accelerator had spent years honing that control necessary to lead an organization in which failure was more frequent than success, despite what the movies could make people think.

It was not easy to make him angry. But right now ... he was not just angry. No. He was absolutely furious.

Just half an hour ago he was warned that one of his hit men, Saraku Mioo, detonated a bomb in the center of Academy City, in order to eliminate Komaba Ritoku, the leader of the Skill Out. And in the explosion also civilians were involved ...

Shaking his head from those thoughts, he walked stealthily inside the building that served as the base of the GROUP, quickly followed by Tsuchimikado.

Accelerator's office was rather bare, except for the presence of occasional posters scattered on the walls of the room, all depicting famous cantos of 80's and 90's music. Among them stood out one in particular, a painting depicting Lemmy Kilmister, leader of the Motorhead group, with a crown on his head.

Waiting for him in the room there was Musujime Awaki, flanked by a boy a little older than her, with short brown hair gathered in a helmet, dressed in a feather coat and tight jeans. This was Saraku himself, the one who Accelerator commissioned to kill Ritoku.

When the eyes of the Esper came into contact with the figure of the Level 5, he curled both his lips in an ecstatic smile.

"Ah, here you are, boss! You'll be happy to know that the work was done without a hitch, "he said in a confident and convinced tone of voice, receiving a glare from Awaki.

"You should have waited," she hissed, visibly irritated.

In response, Saraku sent a derisive sneer to the girl.

" Wait? Fuck off, the decision was up to me" he said with a snort, crossing both arms in front of his chest.

Accelerator passed his head from part to part of the couple, before taking a deep breath.

"What happened?" he asked coldly, addressed to Saraku.

The boy, initially surprised by the tone of the Level 5, just shrugged.

"Well, you asked me to take out Ritoku," he offered casually. "You didn't specify the way I should use to kill him, so I decided"

Accelerator chuckled, apparently amused.

"Did it happen that way? Did you have to…decide?"

" Yes" the other confirmed, visibly proud of the thing.

In front of him, the albino nodded sympathetically.

"And you decided to use a fucking bomb" He murmured.

Saraku nodded vigorously.

"Yep, I set fire to the square as if it was July 4th, Transformers style" he said simulating an explosion with his hands, adding some sound effect to emphasize. "Motor and action, baby, someone call Michael bay!"

He burst out laughing and Accelerator followed him.

If the hit man had stopped to think, he would probably have noticed that the Level 5's laugh was definitely colder and dull than usual, almost empty. Tsuchimikado and Awaki, on the contrary, noticed it almost immediately and they instantly shrugged.

" And the child?" Accelerator asked, after taking a couple of soothing breaths.

Saraku snorted a second time.

"I certainly could not deliver the bomb in person, I'm not suicidal," he said teasingly.

The albino stared at him intently, then glanced quickly at Awaki.

The girl swallowed hard, before mumbling: "I suggested him to wait."

"Oh, come on, don't be a virgin. It was blatant, and that was right. The Skill Outs had to know that Accele didn't care ..."

The teenager didn't even have time to react.

With a quick and sudden movement, Accelerator placed the tip of the index on the chest of the boy, manipulating the vectors that constituted his nervous impulses and sending a powerful kinetic wave into the body of the hit man .

Saraku coughed a bundle of blood and was thrown in midair, landing directly against the opposite wall of the room.

Even if he felt the blow, the sentinel of survival that was in him made his way into his brain, forcing him to look up.

Accelerator was walking toward him, his face closed in an impassive expression.

Without wasting time, Saraku activated his power. The figure of the teenager dematerialized into nothingness, as if he had never been there.

The Level 5, however, extracted a pistol from the pocket of the jacket and, in less than one second, he moved the weapon behind him without even turning around and opened fire three times.

"?!"

Feeling that he hit something, Accelerator turned around.

Saraku was lying on the ground, panting, and had bleeding wounds on his side and on his thighs.

The albino walked towards him and started talking.

"Look what we have here... a teleporter that can only move behind people. What a shitty power. You can't even be a Level 4. And usually being able to teleport your own weight would be enough to get you to that level"

" Bastard …" the hit man whispered, trying to get up but failing miserably.

Accelerator snapped his tongue and put the gun back in his jacket, stopping right in front of the boy.

"Fucking loser. You can't do eleven-dimensional calculations alone, so you compensate basing your calculations on the position of others. That power is wasted on you, "he muttered angrily, before putting his foot on the teenager's chest, pinning him to the ground.

As he tried to free himself under the pressure exerted by the Level 5, the albino briefly turned his gaze to the portrait of Lemmy.

" Do you like that poster? Me too, " Accelerator said, curling his lips in an amused smile.

" Do you know what attracts your gaze when you look at it? The crown, "he continued, tapping his head for emphasis. " Do you want to know why? Everyone loves being king"

And, having said that, he slapped Saraku right in the face, causing him to spit another trickle of blood.

The teleporter stared at him in disbelief, while Accelerator just shrugged.

"I hit you like a bitch. I'm not the type of guy who uses a closed fist on a helpless girl"

And then he slapped him twice more.

"A bomb ..." he whispered, curling his face in an expression that bordered on the purest anger. " You used a fucking bomb in a square full of women and children"

He tried to hit him a fourth time, but Saraku spat in his face.

The dense stream of blood and saliva was readily reflected by the Accelerator vector shield and spilled harmlessly onto the floor of the room.

Tsuchimikado and Awaki took a step back, while the esper turned to the hit man with a look of pure madness.

" Thanks ... now I can hit you like a man" he muttered ecstatically.

After all, this boy had chosen his own path at the exact moment when he decided to behave like a fool.

A bomb has a destiny. A predetermined fate established by its creator. And anyone who tries to alter that destiny will be destroyed. The bombs mark the time in all the moments of their existence. And no one announces his end in a more blatant way.

And if Accelerator hated something ... it was that his operations were slammed in the face of the residents of Academy City, especially if this meant involving civilians who had nothing to do with them.

He punched straight at Saraku's face. The albino increased the impact force at least three times, manipulating the kinetic and potential energy carriers of the hand. The resulting blow affects the fixed joints of the boy's skull, producing a loud crack that echoed throughout the length of the room.

" Who do you think I am?" the Level 5 asked, pulling another punch. This dislocated the boy's jaw.

" I don't kill women and children. Fuck you!" he shouted, hitting him twice more." I don't want this shit on my conscience"

And as the frequency of attacks intensified, splashes of blood and pieces of flesh, dug directly from the bones, began to fly in every direction.

"I kill you, butcher!" Accelerator exclaimed, throwing a final fist on Saraku's deformed face.

The boy's skull exploded into a myriad of bits of bone and brains, spilling blood and gray matter onto the floor of the room. The hands of the albino, however, remained immaculate, as well as his clothes.

The esper stood up and threw a kick at the hit man's corpse.

" Who the fuck did you think I was? A lousy worm like you?" he whispered almost to himself, his tone of voice decorated with disgust. " I told you…I told all of you: don't piss me off!"

He pointed to the body.

" I don't kill children, but you didn't want to listen to me!" he continued, while Tsuchimikado and Awaki stared at him worried.

Then, the Level 5 took a couple of soothing breaths.

" Fucking asshole ... now look at the end you did " he muttered, and then snap the tongue.

Having done this, he turned his attention to his subordinates.

"Call someone to clean up this mess," he ordered in a cold voice.

Tsuchimikado was fast to pull the phone out of his trouser pocket.

The following weeks would've been very long, he could feel that.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **Touma : ...that was brutal.**

 **Accelerator : Becouse this is how high class villains act !**

 **Mikoto : Please, leave a review !**


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes : Here's a new chapter !**

 **As always, I'm Italian, so I apologize for all the grammatical errors you'll find, I'm still searching for a beta reader**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 :**

The setting sun turned into a slice on the Eastern Sea of Japan.

He shrank into a thin, dazzling line that hit the adolescent's eyes with the same intensity of a lighting bolt.

Looking too long at a light like that could cause permanent retinal damage. This was one of the many interesting truths that were learned at school, facts that helped people to find a satisfying job like a half-day bartender, and an interesting hobby like a full-time search for cheap stuff and yen with which buy it.

But the young man didn't stop looking. After all, he was in no real danger.

Things like watching the sun for too long would never have damaged him.

Faced with that pale light, the boy felt lost. He imagined he was back home, in a cradle that was forgotten, with a book in his hand.

In the vision it was spring. The air was warm, the city blossomed and nostalgia sobbed inside him like a muscle wounded deeply by a fishing hook.

" When you're ready, Accelerator" a warm and feminine voice said behind him.

The sound jolted him back to reality, snatching him from reverie, as vivid as certain detailed dreams.

He turned abruptly. Next to him, there was young woman with Asian features, visibly not older than thirty. She had short black hair that reached her shoulders and dressed in elegant, professional clothes.

This was Kikyou Yoshikawa, the boy's psychologist.

Ah, yes ... he was in therapy, he remembered. The thought made him laugh mentally.

For seventeen years, the renowned Accelerator bravely fought the madness that grew inside him like a cancer.

Ever since he was a child, he felt like the last man aboard a transatlantic that sank, to maneuver the bilge pumps with the fury of the convict, to try to keep the ship afloat until the storm ended , the skies opened and aid arrived ... aid from somewhere. Aid from anywhere.

Over time, however, the boy had come to an inevitable conclusion: no aid would ever come.

It would have been better to give up, to be carried away by the storm. And yet ... here he was, in a last ditch attempt to cope with the guilt that gripped him since one of his subordinates detonated a bomb in the middle of the city, killing a child in the process.

He started seeing Yoshikawa for about a month, and this was his third session.

While observing the placid face of the woman, the young man realized that the psychologist's appearance was quite in line with the study in which the meeting was taking place: orderly and accommodating, like a warm cabin located between the ice of a snow-covered land. A bastion of light in the darkness of Academy City.

The 100 square meter studio, all with exposed beams, was equipped with a large living room with two sofas and an area with a work table.

The living room leads to the dining area, fully equipped for cooking and enjoying the apartment.

The first bathroom had a bathtub and the second a shower. Very bright, the studio overlooked a delightful and quiet square and the bright and green inner courtyard.

The furniture was very modern and comfortable, complemented by a flat screen TV.

The living room was composed of two adjacent spaces joined by large openings.

In the inner part there was a comfortable area with sofas and armchairs where you could have a pleasant conversation with tea or a glass of excellent Chianti wine. In this area there was also the fireplace, which in the less sunny autumn or winter days, in addition to heating the room seemed to heat even the spirits. The other part consisted of a long veranda, whose outer wall was entirely formed by windows, under which ran a long flowering bench, as Yoshikawa herself wanted it at the time.

As you can imagine, from here you could enjoy an incredible, splendid lighting and a delightful view of the city's skyscrapers.

If there was therefore a merit that Accelerator was more than happy to highlight with regard to these sessions…it was the possibility of being able to relax in an intimate and " free from annoying" area.

However, it seemed that this time the woman would not let the usual silence break down her attempts to establish a constructive dialogue with the teenager.

" You know that old joke _"How many psychologists do you need to change a light bulb?"_ and the answer is _"Only one, but the light bulb must want to change"_?" Yoshikawa asked, her lips curled in a placid smile.

Accelerator slowly turned his gaze to the psychologist, letting the features of his face reflect in those dark and gentle eyes.

" No, I don't know it" he murmured angrily.

In response to that straightforward statement, the woman merely shrugged her shoulders.

" Well, this is it. This is the joke: the light bulb must want to change!"

" So ... are psychologists stupid? " the young man asked rhetorically, with an amused sneer.

Yoshikawa slumped over the back of the chair, releasing a tired sigh.

" This is not the sense of the joke" she muttered resignedly.

When the teenager didn't respond, she decided to try a new approach.

"What do you expect coming here?" she asked patiently.

Accelerator simply stared at her with an unreadable expression.

" I am obliged to come. I told you, I recently had ... an emotional breakdown, and a friend of mine forced me to take these sessions"

" I understand ... But now that you're here, what do you want?" Yoshikawa pressed, having finally found an opening.

The albino gave her an impassive look.

"... Do you want the truth? The valium" was his answer.

On hearing these words, the psychiatrist raise an eyebrow.

" Why?"

" I had difficulty sleeping "

" Bad dreams?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," the boy said coldly, using a tone that didn't allow replies.

Meanwhile, the woman released a loud snort and said: "It would be easier to get it if you lied."

" Nice opinion that you have of your profession."

" We need to have some other session before starting to talk about prescriptions, it's the procedure" she continued relentlessly, not willing to indulge those obvious attempts to provoke her.

Accelerator clicked his tongue, visibly irritated.

" Can I tell you something? Nowadays everyone needs a psychologist, a specialist, and everyone goes on talk shows to talk about their problems"

Having said that, he released a scornful snort.

" What happened to Gary Cooper? The strong, silent, fearless man. That was a man. He didn't listen to emotions, he did what needed to be done, and that's it. People don't realize that if someone forces Gary Cooper to listen to emotions, then he won't stop talking! And the neurosis here, the neurosis there ... and the neurosis of my balls!" he exclaimed, banging his hands violently on the arms of the chair, and making Yoshikawa wince.

The woman put her hand to the teaser in her pocket. When the teenager didn't seem willing to attack her, however, she withdrew the limb and placed it on her temples

" Why is the last patient of the day always the most difficult?" she muttered almost to herself.

Accelerated rolled his eyes.

" Because you're tired and you don't give a fuck. Nothing transcendental" he replied casually, while Yoshikawa slumped once more in the back of the chair.

After a good minute, she raised her head and looked back at the teenager.

He did the same and looked her in the face.

He found no fiction in it. No trap.

For her, this session was like another job, like when you took out the rubbish.

 **You can tell me if you want** , he could read it in her face, **or you can tell me nothing. I don't judge you, Accelerator, but as far as I'm concerned, a choice is as good as another. I work here and it's already been a month since we started these sessions.**

Accelerator didn't feel offended by the implicit message in the expression of the therapist's eyes; on the contrary, he found in it a further source of comfort.

Yoshikawa was an acquaintance who couldn't be called exactly a friend ... but probably deserved to be considered as such more than many other people he knew. She was an honest woman. No hypocrisy or subterfuges.

Perhaps this was the reason why, in the end, he decided to grant her at least one day of victory.

"Okay, let's get this tooth off," he said annoyed, causing the psychologist to widen her eyes.

The woman didn't waste time and took hold of the notepad, while Accelerator stretched out on the therapeutic couch in the room.

" So, where do we start ..." he said, turning his eyes towards the ceiling.

" I don't remember it so well, but I met a man with a hidden face. He gave me some money and I took it. It was like I was gone back in time. I was walking in the streets at night. It was cold and there was snow on the ground. Then I saw that man once again, who surpassed me with a white horse. He kept riding without saying a word. He was wrapped in a blanket and kept his head down. He overtook me, and I realized he was holding a torch, made from a horn ... like those in western movies, you know? And the horn in the light of the flame had the color of the moon" he whispered, looking at his hands. "And in the dream I knew that he was going on ahead and he was fixing to make a fire somewhere out there, in all that dark and all that cold. And I knew that whenever I got there, he'd be there. . Then ... I woke up"

After finishing that story, he raised his head and stared intently at the figure of Yoshikawa, who began to scrutinize him with keen interest.

" So Doc? Any idea what my fucking brain is trying to tell me?" he asked in a slightly sarcastic voice.

The woman opened her mouth to answer, but, before she could do so, she was interrupted by the alarm that marked the end of the session.

She cast an embarrassed look at the Level 5.

" Our time has expired but ... I would like to go deeper into this discussion. Are you willing to take another appointment?" she asked hopefully.

After all, this boy was starting to fascinate her. And she didn't had a stimulating case for years.

Accelerator merely stared at her impassively, mulling over such a request.

After all, he knew that Tsuchimikado wouldn't give him respite until he showed some positive development.

With that thought in mind, he let out a sigh and said, "Yes, why not?"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Misaka Mikoto, third Level 5 and undercover member of the Judgment, walked slowly and markedly through the infamous streets of Academy City's periphery, her face adorned with an apparently disappointed and embittered expression.

After Commissioner Konori Mii and agent Kamijou Touma simulated her arrest for insubordination, the girl spent the last month under house arrest, going out only to perform public functions such as garbage collection, cleaning the city walls and other activities reserved for those young people who were put in for physical aggression. All to build a plausible cover, so that she could successfully infiltrate the Accelerator gang, known as GROUP.

Precisely for this reason, she went near the bar most frequented by the gangs of the urban complex, hoping to get a chance meeting with some members of the organization.

The place was quite well placed, a mixture of rustic and vintage post 2000s, typical of night clubs.

The Level 5 walked to the counter, where a young girl with short golden hair gathered in a chimeon worked.

" What do I bring you, dear?" the blonde asked, with a gentle smile.

Mikoto didn't even raise her head, and muttered: "Blueberry juice"

The bartender looked at her with sympathy and proceeded to rummage in the pantry.

Meanwhile, behind the Level 5, male voice came.

" Do you know it's a natural diuretic? My girlfriend drinks it when she has her period"

Mikoto turned around.

It was a boy with long brown hair, dressed in second-hand clothes, accompanied by a bald teenager.

"Do you have your period?" He said with a lascivious grin, leaning forward.

Faced with this blatant invasion of her personal space, the brunette squeezed both eyelids.

Then, when the boy was about to put a hand on her shoulder ... she grabbed her arm and twisted it, turning him on his back. With a powerful kick to the shin, she put him on his knees, while his bald friend leaped forward.

Mikoto was quick to avoid the impending punch and hit the teenager straight to the forehead. Then, she grabbed his head and slammed it violently against the counter.

She raised her right hand, ready to throw a punch, but it was intercepted by someone else.

The brunette lifted the car ... and stopped. To grab her, it was a tall, lanky boy with blond hair and a pair of sun glasses.

She recognized him instantly from the photos that were shown during the briefing: he was Tsuchimikado Motoharu, the right arm of Accelerator himself.

"Do you know me?" the boy asked, arching an eyebrow.

Mikoto abruptly freed herself from his grip and stared at him with a frown.

" No"

" I'm the one who tells you that there are those you can touch and there are those who can't touch. That scum is not really one that you can't touch, but he's in a place where he shouldn't be touched. So now I immediately establish a fucking rule: you don't touch him in this bar!" the blond growled, taking a step forward, in a threatening way.

The young Level 5 passed the head from Tsuchimikado to the couple of criminals lying on the ground, before nodding.

"Yeah, whatever" she muttered angrily.

In front of her, the blond nodded in turn and pointed a finger at her chest.

" I know very well who you are, Railgun. But you do another shit like that in here, and I forget about your level and I kick your ass. I've been clear?" he whispered dangerously.

Mikoto crossed both arms in front of her chest, supporting the blond's gaze. Then, she let out a loud snort and muttered: "Yeah, yeah, you've been clear"

" Great. What are you drinking?"

" Cranberry juice"

"What is it, your period?" the boy asked, with a teasing grin.

The Level 5 glared at him, while the teenager gestured for the bartender to come closer.

" Give her a cranberry juice, I'll offer it."

The blonde nodded nervously and did as she was told. While Tsuchimikado walked away, Mikoto took a seat at the counter and began to sip her drink.

She remained like this for about ten minutes, trying to keep a grim and resigned air. It would take a while to integrate into the surrounding environment, but in the long run it would have been worth it.

She heard someone sit next to her, but she didn't care too much.

" Himegi, bring me a black coffee. Without sugar, please" a low and grateful voice said, which for some reason sent a shiver down her spine.

 **"Who the hell comes to a night bar to drink coffee? "** It was the first thought that came into her head.

She glanced quickly to her left, intrigued by the identity of such a person ... and nearly choked on his own saliva.

Next to her, a tall, thin teenager took place, dressed in an elegant snow-white jacket. A suitable color, because the boy himself was pale as a sheet. Even his hairs were white like a bone!

The young Level 5 stretched out instantly, knowing that Accelerator, the head of Gakuen Toshi's most powerful criminal organization, was sipping a coffee just a few steps from where she was sitting.

" Do you know who I am?" the albino suddenly asked, turning to her.

Internally, Mikoto found herself swallowing.

" Yes" she whispered in a low voice, arousing a slight smile by Accelerator.

" Good, this makes things much easier for me" he said, throwing down the last sips of his drink and standing up.

After that, he tapped the Level 5's shoulder.

" Come with me" he whispered, receiving a surprised look from the esper.

When the girl made no sign of wanting to move, the eyes of the albino became much colder.

" I'm not a cop. I'm not asking" he said in a scratchy tone.

He began to move towards the back of the place and Mikoto, after looking around a couple of times, followed him nervously to a bare room without furniture, except for the presence of a chair in the middle. Waiting for them was only the figure of Tsuchimikado.

Accelerator turned toward her, almost casually.

" Those guys you just fixed ... are part of the Skill Outs. And currently they're without a leader to keep them in line " he revealed with a bit of fun.

Mikoto obviously suspected it, but decided to simulate a slightly surprised expression anyway. She heard the news of the death of Komaba Ritoku, whose guilt was still to be attributed.

" So, do you know what they'll do? They'll come with their friends and try to kill you. And if they fail, they'll try to take out those you care about. And this is what they'll do ... unless I stop them. Do you want me to stop them?" the albino asked, as calmly as he was when he ordered his coffee just a few minutes before.

The other Level 5 crossed both arms in front of her chest and simulated a visibly indignant look.

" Can't I do it personally?" she asked rhetorically, causing a laugh from Accelerator.

The teenager gestured for Tsuchimikado to come forward.

" I'm going to have my associate search you."

" No, no one's fucking searching me. Searching me for what?" Mikoto replied, putting herself in a fighting position.

The albino just shrugged.

" Contra-fucking-band. Take your shoes off, come on." he ordered coldly.

The girl began to stare at him with suspicion but, finally, she relaxed, keeping her guard high.

Basically, she expected that they would treat her with some caution, considering her situation. After all, in their eyes, she was still a former cop.

" Sit. Shoes" Tsuchimikado muttered, pointing to the chair.

Mikoto did as she was told, and waited.

With his face closed in an impassive expression, Motoharu scrutinized her shoes meticulously, then began to feel her along her hips, pelvis and legs, taking care not to hit sensitive points with excessive force.

The girl had to give him credit for his level of professionalism.

After almost a minute, the blonde turned to Accelerator and said, "Okay, she's clean."

" Of course I am" Mikoto mumbled, apparently irritated by the whole situation.

The albino paid no attention to her and turned around her figure.

" Do you know what? It makes me curious to see you in this neighborhood." he said suddenly, placing his right hand on her shoulder.

The brunette stiffened at the contact, but managed to maintain a resolute attitude.

"Really?" she asked with contempt.

The Level 5 nodded in response.

"And if I can slander my own environment, I am saddened by this ... regression" he commented with a slightly wider smile. " Plus, who knows if it didn't come to the mind of some officer the trick of driving you out of the Judgment to put you at my heels"

Mikoto gave no sign of being disturbed by those words, but internally she was about to leap out of that room at the slightest sign of threat. Had they already managed to figure out everything? Or was he just making assumptions in an attempt to prove his suspicions?

Regardless of the thoughts in the girl's mind, Accelerator shrugged a second time.

" I don't know. I don't even know what they do in that particular department, anyway " he said in the same casual tone as before.

And then ... it happened. Even before the girl could realize what was happening, the albino grabbed her by the throat with a disarming rapidity, traversed the distance that separated them from the opposite wall, and slammed the figure of Mikoto violently against the wooden boards that made up the room wall.

" Are you still a cop?!" the Level 5 growled, squeezing both eyelids.

The girl clawed at the adolescent's hands in an attempt to break free, but her attempts turned out to be in vain.

"No!" she shouted back, visibly scared.

The grin on Accelerator's face became more pronounced.

"Swear on your father's grave. You're still not a cop?!"

" No, I'm not a fucking cope!" the girl exclaimed, pouring a powerful electric discharge on the figure of the albino.

These, however, remained firm and impassive, completely unaffected by the intensity of the attack.

" Maybe not" he murmured, just loosening his grip but maintaining his dominant position.

" However, I am sure of one thing. You ... are a puffer fish" he whispered, approaching Mikoto's ear and making her shiver.

" A puffer fish. Think about it! Small in size, apparently harmless, an easy predator victim. But the puffer fish has a secret weapon. Do you know what the puffer does, Number 3? The puffer swells, the puffer expands to become 4-5 times larger. But why does it do it? To scare other fish, that's why, to frighten them. And this is you" he continued, pointing to the brunette. " You are the puffer fish. Do you understand? That swagger you showed a few seconds ago ... it's all an illusion, nothing else ... nothing but air. Now who will dare to stand up against the Railgun… the puffer fish"

The Level 5 swallowed hard and appealed to every ounce of courage in her body.

However, as soon as her eyes came into contact with the blood pits that made up Accelerator's pupils , she looked away.

The Albino tilted his head, as if he was looking for something. Then, he let her go, and Mikoto immediately put her hands to her throat, coughing loudly.

"All right, all right" Accelerator muttered, tapping her on the back " It's ok. You'll be all right."

That said, he took some bills from his pants pocket and handed them to the Railgun,

"Here, buy whatever you want, I'll offer it," he said in an almost monotonous voice.

Mikoto stared at the bunch of yen with suspicion. When the other Level 5 made no sign of withdraw the offer, however, she grabbed the money with a disgruntled growl.

The albino began to scrutinize her with amusement.

" I'm sorry, but ... it was necessary. As for our problem with the Skill Outs ... well, let's not cry over some spilled Level 0" he chuckled, gesturing to Tsuchimikado to leave the room. The latter, understanding the silent order of the criminal, nodded resolutely and left the couple.

Mikoto sat down once more, to catch her breath, while the albino leaned with his back against the opposite wall.

"Why did they kick you out?" he asked after a few moments of silence, apparently intrigued.

The young Level 5 raised an eyebrow and turned her head towards him.

" Don't you know?"

" Of course I know, but I'm trying to start a conversation" the boy answered, shrugging his shoulders.

The brunette released a loud snort.

" Insubordination. I hit a superior with a discharge" she muttered angrily.

Upon hearing these words, Accelerator found himself laughing.

" It doesn't surprise me, actually" he commented with a smile, receiving a puzzled expression by Mikoto.

" I followed the career of almost all the Level 5 in the city, so I kept an eye on you too" he revealed, waving a contemptuous hand. " You have never been the type to follow the rules, which is a paradox considering your ... career aspiration"

" Ex aspiration" Mikoto replied coldly, before indicating herself. " As you can see, it didn't work"

" Definitely" the albino observed, whose smile, if possible, became even bigger.

They remained silent for what seemed like a good minute. Believing that the criminal boss had nothing more to say to her, the Level 5 got up from the chair, ready to leave the room. Until…

"What if I offered you an alternative career choice?" Accelerator asked suddenly.

Time seemed to stop. The brunette suddenly stopped, as a feeling of pure triumph began to make its way into her body.

Hiding her excitement, the girl simulated an incredulous expression.

" Out of the police for less than a month and are you already trying to recruit me? I don't think it's a very wise decision" she said with a warning tone.

The Level 5 took a few steps forward, stopping right in front of her. He was about twenty centimeters taller, but Mikoto tried not to feel intimidated by the difference in size.

" And why this?" the albino asked, receiving an incredulous look from the girl.

" Becouse I was a cop, dhu?"

"I think you underestimate how much resentment can change a person" the esper replied, leaning slightly forward.

The Level 5 stared at him with disdain and said, "I'm not interested."

After all, he would have been suspicious if she had accepted such a proposal immediately, considering her career choice.

she tried to get past the boy, but he grabbed her shoulder once more.

"Can I, at least, know the reasons for such an answer?" he asked with a slight inclination of the head.

Mikoto glared at him.

" Because you are a criminal" she growl through clenched teeth.

Accelerator just smiled.

" So are you" he observed as a fact.

The brunette pretended to wince, while the Level 5 shrugged.

" But I think that a criminal is not always a criminal" he continued in a carefree tone. " People can have what they want, and if I don't give it to them…well, they go to someone else. With me they receive exactly what they pay for."

This time, it was him who crossed the figure of Mikoto, and walked to the exit of the room.

Shortly before crossing the door, however, he gave a last brief glance towards the girl.

" After all, a man must learn to be rich. Everyone are good to be poor" he said with a smile.

He started to leave when ...

"Wait," Mikoto whispered, urging him to stop.

Hiding a triumphant grin, the Level 5 turned to her. The girl looked down, with both lips curled up in a disgusted frown.

She took a deep breath, raised her head and stared intently at Accelerator.

"What would you have in mind?" she asked suspiciously.

The Esper shrugged a second time.

" Nothing too complicated. For now, I'm just looking for a bodyguard"

" Do you need a bodyguard? I don't think so " the other replied, crossing both arms in front of her chest.

The albino chuckled, apparently amused by the attitude of the brunette.

" It's always convenient to have a high level esper on the team, especially if it's a Level 5" he offered as a matter of fact.

Internally, Mikoto found herself agreeing with him. It was a logical explanation, of course, but in her heart she knew that it wasn't the only one.

" Do I need to do something illegal?" she asked skeptically.

Accelerator smiled thinly.

" No, you will simply have to ensure my safety. I am powerful, of course, but I have long learned that the precaution is never too much" he said with the tone of someone who knew a lot about it. And, considering all the times they tried to kill him, Mikoto had no problem recognizing the wisdom of that statement, however wise the words of a homicidal criminal could be.

She was silent for a couple of minutes, pretending to take the time to evaluate the pros and cons of such a proposal.

However, unbeknownst to the albino, she made her decision several weeks earlier.

She took a deep breath and said: "A week's trial. If I do not like what I see ... I give up right away"

" No problem" the Level 5 replied, with a triumphant grin.

" And I will stay just enough to recover the money spent on the course of the Judgment. Nothing more, nothing less" Mikoto added, in an attempt to give more credibility to her choice.

In response, Accelerator merely offered his right hand forward.

"I'm sure I can win you before then," he chuckled, as the girl squeezed it.

" You didn't start in the best way" she snorted, causing another shrug by the esper.

" What can I say ... I am a very intense person. Which is why, in order to avoid unpleasant future disagreements ..."

The hold suddenly became much more intense and Mikoto had to hold back a jolt.

"You try to screw me ... and I'll make so many holes in your body that your guts will bleed lead" the albino whispered, staring coldly.

This time, however, the brunette was able to hold her gaze.

"I have no intention to screw you" she growled strongly.

The answer seemed to satisfy the criminal boss, who wrinkled his lips again in a satisfied smile.

" Excellent. Now ... would you like to have a coffee?"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Mikoto: * crosses her arms and smiles * an infallible cover.**

 **Touma: I say he'll figure out everything before they can buy the next coffee.**

 **Konori: I say that she resists until tomorrow morning.**

 **Mikoto: Oi, oi, have some confidence in my abilities!**

 **Accelerator: * sighs * every review is welcomed and blah, blah, blah.**

 **Mugino: With you as our spokesman, it's a miracle that we still have readers.**

 **Accelerator: Shut up, bitch!**

 **Mugino: ;)**

 **Next time it's Kamijou Faction Time !**

 **Ghuna : We are gonna need a lot of GUTS !**


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes : here's the new chapter! As always, I'm Italian, so I apologize for all the grammatical errors you'll find in this story.**

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 :**

One of the most spectacular contrasts in a restaurant is the difference between the room and the kitchen.

The more the room is calm, elegant, refined and welcoming, the more the kitchen is messed up, noisy, anxious and hysterical; to obtain the scampi tartare on croutons with Caraglio garlic-scented oil, which in a star-studded restaurant always reaches a porcelain plate, sailing in the hands of an apollonian-looking waiter...well, an average of six curses, two burns and the replacement of a dish are required, plus the repeated insinuation by the manager that the chef on duty brings a questionable surname.

If you want to know how the kitchen is, then look at the room and think otherwise.

These were the thoughts that passed in the mind of Kakine Teitoku, the second Level 5, aka Dark Matter, while his eyes rested lazily on the floor below the counter of his private restaurant, the Angel's Club.

After all, this place represented a perfect metaphor for what he was: a person apparently impeccable, calm and friendly, but inside he hid a chaotic personality, perpetually in turmoil, ready to explode at the slightest sign of threat or provocation.

Currently, the boy sat quietly at a circular table, along with three other individuals: Trick and Tetsu's couple of henchmen, the Shikimura brothers, Kibi and Kaido, now employed by his replacement.

Each of the esper held a total of three cards in hand, while in front of them chips and other currency methods typical of Poker were scattered.

A few meters from the table, however, there was the figure of a young woman with long red hair gathered in a ponytail. She wore elegant clothes and reading glasses, holding a glass of red wine in her hands. She was Telestina Kihara, one of the most prominent members of the Kihara family, the group of scientists responsible for some of the most important experiments in the city, including the creation and development of Level 5.

After about a minute of total silence, Kakine released a sigh, attracting the attention of the people he was playing with.

" Rule number one: poker is based on deception" he said to Trick. " You need to pretend to have better cards than those you have. You must manipulate the opponent's mind to your advantage. You need to know when to bluff and how long to carry the comedy forward"

The Level 2 nervously looked at his cards, stared at Kakine and then, with a frustrated grimace, ran his hand.

The blond curled his lips in a placid smile.

" Second rule: put emotions aside. You must play the cards you have. Don't get involved in the tricks of others, there is only a hindrance." he continued with a reproachful tone, making the henchman blush deeply and causing a little laugh from the other two.  
" Third rule" the boy resumed, turning his gaze towards the pair of brothers. " Poker is not suitable for cowardly players. Sometimes you have to bet everything. Come on, guys, put more money on the table! "

Faced with that invitation, the two espers cast wary glances to each other, their faces perpetually impassive. And then, with slight hesitation, they pushed some chips into the center of the table.

"And now…show your cards," Kakine urged.

Kaido was the first to show his hand, with a confident smile on his face: a double pair of kings. That smile, however, was very short-lived, because Kibi proceeded to show a Jacks full just a few seconds later, turning his brother a victorious grin.

Kakine looked at the opposing cards with a slight frown, before taking a deep breath.

"I didn't tell you the last rule," he began with an apparently irritated voice. " The house always wins."

And, after saying that, he smiled once again, revealing a Kings full.

Kaido and Kibi released a loud moan, while the Level 5 proceeded to move the coveted prize to his side of the table.

He looked briefly at the suffering figures of the henchmen.

After about ten seconds, he snorted with amusement and said: "Do you know what ? Next turn is on me"

Once heard these words, the faces of the trio lit up instantly. Kakine motioned them to leave the table, and they were more than happy to consent.

" I never took you for a charitable person" the woman sitting on the armchair commented, her face adorned with an imperceptible smile.

Kakine turned his head towards her, staring at her with a much colder expression.

" It 's not charity, it's only common sense" he replied with an impassive tone. " An activity certainly cannot look only at the index of profits. It must distribute wealth, culture, services and democracy. When I think about an economic activity ... I think to the people. The divisions between capital and labor must be overcome"

With that said, he gave a quick nod to the trio of criminals.

" This is just the way I use to keep them at bay. After all, sometimes the carrot is better than the stick"

" On this I agree" the Kihara replied, collapsing in the back of the chair.

Kakine sat down beside her and pointed to the floor below, where dozens of people were busy enjoying the delicious dishes prepared by the restaurant kitchens.

"Are you struck by all this?" he asked in an almost bored tone, while the woman shrugged.

"A little," she said, in a rather similar tone of voice.

Despite the apparent indifference of those words, the Level 5 curled both lips in a satisfied smile.

"This place was a nest of cockroaches before I bought it, and look at it now. People line up to come here"

"Fascinating " Telestina commented, before turning her gaze towards the blonde. " Why did you ask me to come here?"

" Straight to the point as always" Kakine murmured, looking up at the ceiling. " Well, Mr. Councilor... The Block Society is ready to make a big donation in my pocket and your ... scientific project. Sometimes a face-to-face chat is needed"

"Isn't the same society where a smuggling drug dealer invested his money?" the woman asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Why the hell do you waste your time with…that? Power lies in politics. All the rest is just noise"

"My noise makes you rich," Kakine replied coldly. " All that ... **keep Gakue Toshi** **sure** will get you re-elected. But when the smoke clears ... those like me make you stay where you are. Your family is powerful ... but I am more powerful"

In response, the woman merely stared at him coldly, taking an easy gulp from the glass in her hand.

She was about to reply, but at that moment the cell phone that the Level 5 held in a pocket started ringing, interrupting her.

The teenager grabbed the device and carried it to his ear.

" What ?" he said coldly, apparently annoyed by the call. " What the fuck are you talking about?"

And then, the expression on the esper's face suddenly became much more angry.

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

" When we win, nobody will ever know what we did. No medals ... no promotions"

These were the words that Kamijou Touma, Level 0, pronounced half an hour before Kakine Teitoku received the unfortunate news that one of his main collection points for dirty money was attacked.

Currently, the teenager was in one of the numerous port sections of Academy City, next to a black car, surrounded by the figures of Shirai Kuroko, Sogiita Gunha, Ruiko Saten and Aogami Pierce. In his right hand he held a rolled-up poster.

" And I'm here to tell you that death ... wait for those who will hesitate" the esper continued, his face adorned with a serious expression. " At the moment, our only advantage is that none of our enemies knows who we are. So, in this team, there is only one rule to respect"

And, having said that, he took the Judgment band off his shoulder and showed it to the group.

" Leave these at home. Because here we are not solving a case ... We are going to war" he whispered coldly.

The various members of the team, with the exception of Gunha, cast significant glances at the bands they wore. Aogami and Saten were the first to take them off, while Kuroko needed almost a good minute to accept what she was about to do.

Closing her eyes, almost as if the action itself provoked a sense of repulsion inside her, she detached the band from the jacket she was wearing and stared at Touma with determination.

"When do we start?" she asked with a tone full of anticipation, receiving a little smile from the Level 0.

" Tonight, we are going to rob one of Kakine Teitoku's deposits, used to launder dirty money" he revealed.

Then he opened the car door and pulled out a total of five black masks, accompanied by six guns. They were real weapons, equipped with bullets with copper cocoons capable of piercing a human being from side to side, but tonight they were there just to make a scene and help them with what would have been the first field operation of this cleaning campaign

" Why don't we all gather here and see the plan again?" Touma said, calling the group to himself.

Once the various members of the team gathered around him, the adolescent widened the poster he held in his hands, revealing the layout of what looked like a boat, about 40 meters long and 10 in wide.

" This is Queen's Revenge, one of Kakine Teitoku's main sources of income. Full of cash cows and the object of our little mission" the Level 0 declared , indicating the design of the boat.

Having done this, he pointed towards a long pair of parallel lines that preceded the left side of the boat.

" This is Okaido Street, where we are currently, the only point of access to the boat. You will certainly all know that Accelerator established a ban on directing any land-based gambling exercise not related to him, but this rule doesn't apply to water-based activities. Teitoku used this loophole to build a casino on the river that runs through the city" he continued, running his finger over the stylized representation of the aforementioned affluent, above which rested the plant of the ship.

" This planimetry, supplied by Uiharu, shows the location of the casino offices, the closet, the catering and cleaning facilities. The vault and the deposits of the daily collection, on the other hand, can be located ... anywhere" he said with a shrug, before tapping Aogami on his back. " Fortunately, our Pierce turned out to be a proverbial "mole man", and he managed to get a job as a cleaning attendant inside the Queen's Revenge"

" I don't know if I explain myself" the teenager intruded, waving his eyebrows with lascivious doing.

While Kuroko and Saten gave him impassive expressions, Touma just rolled his eyes.

" Now, tell us, Pierce…where is the "Anywhere"?" he asked with a tone full of expectations.

The boy, however, stared at him strangely.

" Sorry, what ?"

" ... Where is the money?" Touma repeated, with a resigned sigh.

Aogami's eyes seemed to lighten with understanding.

" Ahhh! Okay ... So when the shift is over, the manager brings the money in a safe down the hold of the boat, and once a day the money is transferred to the vault!"

" ... And where is this "vault"?" Touma asked, leaning slightly forward.

Aogami raised an eyebrow and pointed in the direction of the map.

" Er, right there, in the little rectangle you are indicating ..."

" And what, for Kami's sake, represents this "rectangle that I am indicating"?" The Level 0 growl, apparently ready to tear his hair.

Pierce replied, using a slightly hesitant tone: "Offices ... in the keel?"

"In the keel," Touma confirmed, nodding in satisfaction. " So, during the casino closing time the door of this vault is heavily guarded. When the casino opens, the entire underground complex is sealed and the armed guard moves to the main entrance of the casino. And so then, away from the guards, the money remains here, behind a steel portal twelve centimeters thick, and with internal frequency jammers capable of holding back any attempt at teleportation "

" That will be a problem " Kuroko observed, her face adorned with a slight frown.

Meanwhile, the Level 0 pursed his lips in a confident smile.

"Not if we have someone who has the ability to break down reinforced concrete walls with a single, quick blow"

" I will not use even 10% of my guts!" Gunha exclaimed, raising a fist in the direction of the sky.

Saten smiled in turn.

" Having a Level 5 in the team is very convenient" she commented with approval.

Internally, Touma agreed with her. Then, he clapped both hands in a resounding chime.

" Well, ladies and gentlemen, here you are: boys and girls of different profession and different talents! People who have only two things in common: first, you all agreed to be part of this operation. And secondly…you will be those who'll bring this city out of the rot where it's sinking!"

" Hell, yeah!" Aogami exclaimed, causing a laugh from the others.

Touma followed the example and put on the mask.

"In and out in ten minutes, they won't understand what happened," he said, while the others did the same.

Once the caps were in place, Gunha crossed both arms in front of him.

" Less talk, more action! My guts quiver from the desire to dispense a bit of healthy justice" he declared excitedly. Touma nodded in agreement.

" Let's go" he ordered, signaling the group to follow him.

As they approached the boat, being careful not to get noticed, they eyed several costumed people entering the ship. Men and women disguised as Indians, characters from movies, manga, or even cops.

"And who are they?" Touma asked, pointing to the people in uniform.

" Extras" Aogami informed them, calming the fears of the Level 0. " As far as I remember, tonight there should be come kind show"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

Casinos have a secret, a secret that they guard and protect and value as the most sacred of their mysteries.

Most people don't play to win, as is generally advertised, sold, declared and dreamed. It's an easy lie that gives people an excuse to enter from those huge doors that are always open. The secret is this: people play to lose, only they don't know.

In Academy City, everybody has to check others. Since the players try to beat the casino, the croupiers check the players, the cashiers check the croupiers, the staff in the room check the cashiers, the supervisors check the employees in the room, the shortmen check the supervisors, the casino manager check the shift leader , and Level 5s control the casino director. They are the eye of heaven that controls all others.

In a casino the basic rule is to keep customers playing and keep them coming back. The more they play, the more they lose. In the end…they catch everyone, nobody can resist.

Despite what it may seem, the game is almost always practiced by young people with great needs, who lack the money necessary to sustain their standard of living. So they play, and of course the result is this. Or they loose…or they win, and then the losers pay the horses and the lovers of these gentlemen, which is very unpleasant.

Debts are contracted, the relationships intertwined around the green table end with quarrels in which little by little the honor and the life are forgotten. And when one is honest, one is ruined by honest young people who have no other defect than that of not having more than a thousand yen of income every month.

That's right: casinos are a real death trap. But like any trap, they are also extremely inviting, illuminated and opulent, bursting with joy and the laughter of the customers who were caught in the trap.

And the Queen's Revenge was no exception.

When Touma and the rest of the gang passed the ship's doors, bursting with apparent arrogance and dropping some people, they found themselves immersed in a cacophony of sounds and smells, some familiar, others decidedly unexpected.

Every single person present in the main hall suddenly stopped, turning incredulous looks towards the entrance of the casino and scanning the new arrivals from head to foot.

" Ladies and gentlemen ... my colleague and I will make a withdrawal! Apparently this casino is insured, so ... nobody moves" Touma started, raising a gun. The rest of the gang followed him.

However, to the great dismay of the Level 0, the various casino customers simply stared at them oddly, while others quietly resumed playing, as if the whole situation didn't interest them in the least.

Touma glanced quickly at Gunha and he shrugged, apparently as surprised as he was.

Then, Saten released a sigh and aimed his gun at the ceiling, firing a couple of times. The sound caused by the bullets that sank into the concrete made the costumers jump.

" Maybe we didn't make ourselves clear enough ... this is a damn robbery!" she exclaimed in a lower voice than usual, trying to disguise herself.

This time, the reaction of the people gathered was much better suited to the current situation. Some lowered themselves under gaming counters or sloth machines, others began to whimper, while some even screamed.

Touma smiled under the mask and took a step forward, but before he could continue on ...

" Police!" Aogami exclaimed, recalling the attention of the Level 0.

" We are under cover" he hissed, while the other boy indicated a very precise point of the room.

" No ... police!" the teenager repeated, and Touma, quickly followed by Gunha, Kuroko and Saten, turned to the area he was indicating.

And then ... he stopped. A few meters from them, hands on guns and faces adorned with expressions that were surprised but resolute at the same time, there were four men dressed in Anti-Skill uniforms.

Touma's eyes widened.

" Fukou da ...They are not extras! Retreat, retreat!" he exclaimed, waving the group out.

At the same time, the agents pointed their weapons and shouted: "Stop!"

With a quick movement, Touma fired a couple of shots, which went into the nearest sloth machine, giving off sparks and small clouds of smoke. Not the most ideal distraction, but it was the only thing he could think of now.

As the cops tried to avoid the burning car, the group hurried out of the boat.

" You didn't tell us that there would be the Anti-Skill!" Kamijou exclaimed, briefly turning his head towards Aogami. The boy, still in a panic, replied, saying: "I've never seen them before tonight!"

" This was a stupid idea!" Kuroko exclaimed, approaching the car. However, just before she could grab the door, Saten threw herself at her, pushing her to the ground.

Just half a second later, a series of four holes materialized out of nowhere on the side of the vehicle, followed by the popping of the shots.

Startled, Touma glanced quickly at Kuroko.

"Get everyone out of here!" he ordered aloud, and the teleporter was quick to grabb Saten and Aogami by their shoulders and teleported them away from the area, while Touma and Gunha ran for cover to one of the industrial buildings along the river.

Behind them, other "stop!" echoed , followed by the sound of more shots, but the two espers didn't turn to check and kept running. Guhna could certainly have put the entire group in K.O, but if he had used his power he would have been recognized instantly. There were not many Level 5 in the city, after all, and the power of Sogiita was quiet unique.

And the ability of Touma, however useful against esper powers... could do little or nothing against heavily armed men.

For this reason they ran through the alleys and ravines without ever stopping, until the voices of their pursuers were only a distant memory.

They arrived near a container area and, after making sure they weren't followed, they released sighs of relief.

" What a mess" Touma muttered, putting a hand to his forehead.

Beside him, a certain Level 5 was more than happy to consent.

" Yeah!"

"What did we learn, Guhna?

" Er ... I don't know"

"I don't know either... I guess we learned not to do it again!" the Level 0 exclaimed, receiving a nod from his companion.

" Yes, sir!" the boy exclaimed, making a military salute.

Touma nodded with satisfaction, before taking a hand to his chin, muttering: "Even if I'm not sure what we did"

" Yes, it's…t's hard to say." Ghuna agreed, scratching his head.

Kamijou released another sigh.

" What a mess"

" Stop, hands up!" a sudden voice exclaimed, making the two under-cover officers jump.

The couple turned abruptly ... and froze. Behind them there was the figure of a fat, stocky man, dressed in a port controller uniform, green and crumpled with moisture.

Internally, Touma found himself cursing. Of course, they ended up in a reserved area. It was stupid of them to let their guard down.

He raised his hands, to show that he was not a threat, but at that very moment something decidedly unexpected happened. A fourth figure appeared behind the controller, hitting him in the back of the head with the handle of a gun. The man didn't even have time to make his surprise known and fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Hamazura Shiage observed his work with a satisfied look, before turning his attention to a visibly incredulous Kamijou Touma.

" … ok, and now who the hell is this?" Gunha asked, scrutinizing the newcomer with curiosity.

Beside him, a certain Level 0 stared at Hamazura with an impassive expression.

" Hamazura Shiage, is one of ours" he said coldly, before walking up to the figure of the blonde.

"How did you know we were here?" He asked imperiously.

The teenager merely shrugged.

" Konori told me " he revealed, and Touma's eyes seemed to lighten with understanding.

" What has changed?" he asked with suspicion.

Hamazura looked down at the ground, as if he were searching for the right words to answer such a question.

" Let's say…I woke up" he whispered at the end, turning to the colleague a determined expression.

Kamijou Touma remained still and motionless, analyzing the figure of the Level 0 from head to foot, searching for the slightest sign of deception or lie.

When he found none, his gaze began to soften and he held his right hand forward.

" Welcome to the team" he declared with a little smile, while Hamazura squeezed it.

Then, the Imagine Breaker holder glanced quickly at the controller's unconscious body.

" Now ... let's get out of here"

* * *

 **XXXX**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Touma : … well ... it could have been better.**

 **Saten : It was a disaster!**

 **Touma : O-oi, it was our first operation as undercover criminals! We need time to get used to it!**

 **Kuroko : I feel so dirty and humiliated ...**

 **Kakine : Well…it could also have been worse !**

 **Touma : …really ?**

 **Kakine : Of course ! You could really rob me!**

 **Touma : …**

 **Kuroko : …**

 **Saten : …**

 **Uiharu : …**

 **Guhna : …**

 **Aogami : …**

 **Kakine : ;)**

 **Accelerator and Mugino : * they laugh in the background ***

 **Yes, the first mission of our heroes was not the best. After all, life is unpredictable ... but they'll be able to redeem themselves! Becouse now they have the help of someone who knows much more about organized crime.**

 **In the next chapter, you'll see how Mikoto begin to get used to the life of a " bodyguard".**

 **Mikoto : sigh, I have a bad feeling about this…please, leave a review !**


End file.
